Chronicle: Naruto Uzumaki
by badliar 2312
Summary: Slight Chronicle X-Over, When he stole the Forbidden Scroll, Naruto not only learned Kage Bunshin, he also found something else, a blue crystal that seems to exude raw power...
1. Prologue: The Accursed Crystal

**AN: **A new fanfic! this has been going on in my mind for a while now, and it has been an imminent plot bunny, but now, here it is! hope you guys enjoy it.

**Summary: **slight Chronicle X-over, when Naruto stole the Forbidden Scroll, Naruto not only learn Kage Bunshin, but he also found something that was sealed there; a mysterious blue crystal that seems to exude raw power...

**Note: **Kyuubi/Kurama's character would be different because of how the first Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, Mito Uzumaki, treated him, Mito apologized for the sealing, yet despite his desire to be freed, she couldn't do it as she needed him to be sealed to maintain the peace that Konoha has with the other villages, but she also decided to know Kurama better and giving him a bit of freedom inside the seal instead of just saying that he's too dangerous to be given freedom and chained him inside her psyche and unable to see the outside world.

And then, she introduced Kurama to Kushina before she became the second Jinchuuriki by letting her inside her mind and talked to him, and she also become friends with him. Making him a bit more comfortable in his 'prison', and thus, making his abhorrence to humans, particularly the Uzumakis, much lesser than canon.

So before you guys said that he's too OOC, I already explained why.

And the reason why I didn't put this in a crossover section is because the only element that I took from Chronicle was the Crystalline object and the telekinetic power it gave to Andrew, Steve, and Matt.

And I'm also toying with the aspect of what exactly the Crystal gave to human beings and how it would affect people who has Chakra Coils.

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own anything, except for my ideas.

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><p><strong>Prologue: The Accursed Crystal<strong>

* * *

><p>It was a peaceful night time in the village of Konoha, the villagers had done their deeds for the day and went home to rest.<p>

But it was not so for one person...

Amidst the forest, an orange blur can be seen if one squint their eyes.

The blur was wearing an orange jacket and orange trousers, as if he wanted to be seen as the center of attention, blue goggles perched on his head, and a pair of blue sandals covered his feet.

He stopped at one of the clearings within the forest to catch his breath, "Whoo! Finally made it! man, this thing is heavy!" He said in relief that he found the place where he's supposed to meet him.

Short stature, blonde hair, ocean blue-colored eyes, three pairs of whiskers on each side of his cheek, this person is Naruto Uzumaki, the twelve year old energetic troublemaker child from Konoha who is hated by most of the villagers, much to his confusion and sadness.

On his back, he carried a huge scroll, a scroll that contains many forbidden Jutsu and mysterious things from the past, the scroll was created by the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju to keep it from prying eyes who seeks to empower themselves with the things inside it.

How could he possess such a thing, you may wonder?

Well, it so happens that the boy was determined to become a Shinobi, but yet, he failed the test that would allow him to become a full-pledged genin, due to his inability to create a **Bunshin. **Iruka Umino, his teacher who also happens to be one of the people who cared for him, and is his big brother figure, was visibly saddened, but yet there was nothing he could do.

On his way to Ichiraku Ramen Stand to literally eat his sorrows away, Naruto met Mizuki, his sensei who said that if he could steal a scroll from the Hokage Residence, he would become a Genin.

Naruto had sensed there were something wrong of course, he's not stupid by any means, but he is not that smart either, he just likes acting like an idiot to get attention, but back then, he was overwhelmed with a sense of hope and happiness that clouded his better judgment, so he accepted.

It turns out that he was quite handy at stealth, even though there were some hiccups at the infiltration part of the 'mission', he managed to steal one of the scrolls from the inside of the guarded residence, which was quite impressive.

And now, here he is, waiting for his sensei to come and congratulate him.

But as time goes on and on, he got bored, 'Where is Mizuki-sensei? It's been thirty-five minutes since the time we were supposed to meet.' He thought.

Looking at the scroll, he was tempted to open it and learn something from it 'Well, I guess I could still kill some time...'

He opened the scroll, and there were many things, from an array of forbidden Jutsu, sets of pictures that depicts ancient martial arts from ancient times, and scriptures with a language that has been long forgotten.

And there was one thing that attracts his attention.

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu... **An S-rank technique, allowing him to create a corporeal clone of himself that's stronger than normal Bunshin and capable of offensive capabilities due to it's uncanny physical resemblance to the original.

Without hesitation, Naruto immediately start learning how to conjure it, at the very least he wants to learn something similar to Bunshin, the one jutsu that he's horrible at.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

The door leading to the Library filled with the Scrolls was left open.

Hiruzen just couldn't believe this, someone infiltrated his residence, and took the Scroll without him knowing.

'And not to mention that scroll also contains that thing...!'

When he found the space for the Scroll was vacant, he immediately goes to check the possible perpetrator using the crystal ball that he used to monitor the village using his familiarity of the person's chakra pattern.

He checked on one person in his mind, one person he considered impossible for him to do such a thing.

And what he found surprised him.

For he saw that Naruto, of all people, carrying the scroll towards the forest with an innocent, yet determined smile on his face.

"Why did you do this Naruto...?" Hiruzen muttered disbelievingly, there must be a reason why he did this, was it for attention? or because of anger, due to the fact that he failed the test?

He shook his head "No, it wasn't that, that is not a smile one would have out of anger, and this _is _a bit too far for him to just create some attention... maybe I should wait for a while, let things unfold..." Hiruzen said as he begins contemplating why Naruto would do such a thing.

...

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><p>...<p>

It was an hour later when Naruto finally managed to activate the Kage Bunshin, but yet, Mizuki haven't arrived.

"Where is he...?" Naruto muttered, as he starts to have a bad feeling for the first time since the past few hours.

'What is this...? why didn't he arrive yet? ...Maybe it was a bad idea for me to trust him, he did look kinda fishy when he told me to do this...'

Unaware to him, his tenant sighed at his host's late moment of realization.

But although Naruto couldn't hear him, he could felt it, it's as if someone, somewhere in the world sighed in disappointment at what he's doing.

Naruto decided to take his mind off his worry by reading the scroll even more.

Then, he found an interesting page.

It was a containment seal, and there was a note on the side of it.

_To whoever it may concern, never open this seal and what's inside it, for if you do, severe consequences will befall you._

_-Hashirama Senju  
><em>

'Intriguing.' he thought as he read the note, even though the First Hokage himself clearly stated that he doesn't want this thing to be unleashed into the world, he couldn't help his desire to open it.

What can he say? It's in his nature to be curious.

"Hm... how do I open this thing?" Naruto muttered out loud "Maybe it would open if I channeled some of my chakra into it..." He said as he placed his palm on the seal, unbeknowst to him however, is that the seal was created by one Mito Uzumaki, Hashirama's wife, and it recognized the Uzumaki chakra pattern and responds accordingly.

It glows for a while before a smoke poofed out of the seal, indicating that he had unlocked the seal.

When the smoke cleared down, there was a crystal a size of his palm glowing with blue color that seems so dissonant with the world around it.

"Whoa... what is this thing?" Naruto asked, mesmerized by the glowing crystal and the power that emanates from it.

As his hand's grasping the crystal, Naruto begin to feel weird, his head feels a soft stimulation, as if someone is stroking his hair a little too hard for his comfort, his eyes got somewhat blurry as he's getting a hard time seeing his surroundings, and he's starting to feel light, as if he's got a fever.

And he never got sick in his entire life of eating nothing but ramen.

"What's happening to me?" he muttered weakly, his eyes were staring at nothing in particular, his nose started bleeding, and not a moment later, he passes out as the crystal glowed bright red.

...

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><p>...<p>

Inside the sewer, the manifestation of Naruto's mind created by the seal in which the Nine-tailed fox resides, Kyuubi could feel his host's body stirring and changing when he touched the Crystal that was locked by Hashirama Senju.

**'It looks like that whatever that thing was, it was capable of changing the structure of the chakra coils... no...' **Kyuubi thought as he felt that Naruto's chakra coils began to merge completely into his body, thus, enabling him to manipulate Chakra energy to a greater extent than even a high-class Shinobi would, and in return, it also disrupts the seal that imprisons the Kyuubi, making it a bit weaker **'It seems that it eliminates them, and creating a whole new system for circulating the energy that would allow him to easily channel his own internal energy and external forces to extend his control outside his physical body, maybe he could even have control over forces of nature, but it doesn't seem to be enough...'**

The Kyuubi grinned, not just because it disrupts the influence of the seal, but also about his host's massive improvement, he had watched how the kid is practically being denied of his potential just because a Bijuu was sealed within him, the prejudices from the other people in his village really disgusts him, even though he is somewhat apathetic to humans, the Kyuubi would never hurt them on purpose, even his attack on the village was caused by a man calling himself Madara Uchiha, not by his own will, because that's not what the old man taught him and his siblings.

But now, it seems that there is a chance that he could get this kid what he should've gotten several years ago, love, respect and acknowledgement, and not to mention that he wants to pay the kid back for the things he went through because of his presence inside of him** "Not to mention _her _involvement in this should make things more interesting..."**

...

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><p>...<p>

When Mizuki along with Iruka reported Naruto's disappearance a few hours ago, Hiruzen saw a glimpse of a sadistic and gleeful visage on Mizuki's face, and he immediately knows that he had something to do with it.

And so when he sent many other Shinobi along with Iruka and Mizuki to find Naruto, he knew that he only have to watch out for Mizuki, so he told a team of ANBU to keep an eye on him.

But when he had returned to the crystal ball, he saw that Naruto was unconscious and bleeding profusely through his nose.

Looking at the boy's hand, Hiruzen was extremely terrified when he saw the familiar blue Crystal glows red.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Iruka was never comfortable seeing somebody in pain, especially if it was a child.

So when he saw the unconscious form of Naruto lying in the ground of the forest, bleeding from his nose, Iruka was terrified that something had happened to him.

"Oh my God! Naruto!" Iruka screamed in worry as he ran towards Naruto's unconscious form lying in the ground, with his hand's still grasping the Crystal tightly.

Looking at the crystal that glows menacingly, Iruka deduced that it must be the reason why Naruto is unconscious.

He tried to take it away from Naruto's hand, but the moment he touched it, the Crystal rejected him, as Iruka's hand suddenly felt as if it had been put on a blazing fire.

Iruka pulled his hand and saw that his hand has indeed been burnt, 'But how? How can that Crystal emits such heat?' Iruka thought.

Then, as if on cue the white haired Chuunin came down from a tree with a sadistic expression plastered on his face, "Well... it looks like I don't have to do much after all, the demon has killed himself because of his stupidity! Hahhaaaahahaaha!" Mizuki laughed maniacally.

"Mizuki... so it was you who ordered him to do this!"

"Who else? I only have to tell him that he would be a genin if he gave me that Scroll, and because of the failure of his test, he gladly accepted it, Hah! what a fool, doesn't he realize that no one wants him? Demons like him would be better off dead."

"He is not a demon! Even though the Kyuubi was sealed within him that doesn't mean that he becomes like the beast inside him! The Yondaime sacrificed his life to seal the beast inside of him, at the very least we might as well treat him with the respect he deserves, without Naruto's sacrifice, the Kyuubi would have destroyed our village back then."

"The Yondaime was a fool! He should just order us to kill the kid when he was a baby, the demon would be dead and no one would miss him anyway."

Iruka was taken aback "...You... You would dare to kill a child? To never let him live just because he has a burden that he had never willingly volunteered to carry it? What kind of monster are you!"

"I'm not a monster! that thing is!" Mizuki yelled as he points towards Naruto, "And I'll do what The Yondaime failed to do and kill him right now!" he said as he pulled a Kunai and ran towards Naruto.

Iruka saw this, he drew his Kunai and blocked Mizuki's, creating a loud sound of clashing steel.

"Why are you protecting him! He murdered your family! If anything, you should be glad that he's dead!" Mizuki yelled through his gritted teeth as he tried to push Iruka's kunai.

"He's not responsible for that, the Kyuubi is. To me, he is Uzumaki Naruto, a boy determined to overcome people's hatred and prejudice and become the greatest Hokage that ever lived, and if you can't see that, then we have nothing else to talk about." Iruka said with conviction.

The crazy white-haired Chuunin coughed when Iruka planted his fist on Mizuki's stomach, from the opening that he made, Iruka slashed his chest, creating a deep gash on his chest.

"You... bastard...!" Mizuki mouthed out before he summoned a giant Shuriken and preparing to hurl it to Iruka "I'll Kill YOU!"

But then, a sword placed on his neck stopped him.

For behind his back there was an ANBU wearing a cat mask, and long purple hair flows from her head.

She was Yuugao Uzuki, one of the ANBU that the Sandaime had ordered to watch Mizuki, when she saw that he was the one who ordered Naruto, she waited for him to tell his reasons, but when she saw how crazy he is to think that the Jinchuuriki is responsible for everything that his tenant did, she was tempted to drop down and give him a piece of her mind but managed held her ground.

When she saw that he was going to kill Naruto because of his burden and a fellow Shinobi of Konoha just because he doesn't agree with his hatred, that was when she decided to intervene.

Then, she snapped her fingers and multiple ANBU dropped down and surround Mizuki, who becomes terrified when he realized that he is severely outmatched and outnumbered.

"By the order of Sandaime Hokage, you are arrested for manipulation of a civilian to steal something of important value to the village, and threatening to kill a fellow Shinobi for no good reason, you have the right to remain silent and to plead yourself in front of the Hokage, not that it would do you any good." She muttered the last part.

Mizuki, afraid out of his wits and about to excrete feces in his pants, became even more afraid when the Sandaime himself came, and the expression on his face could kill him if the saying 'looks could kill' were true.

"Hokage-sama...! What are you doing here?" Asked one of the ANBU that wore a tapir mask.

The Hokage didn't answer, he merely said "Take this man to Ibiki, and make sure he will be locked up in a cell where someone would make him his plaything." He mouthed out, his tone made even some of the ANBU flinched, "Neko, you stay here, and look after Naruto."

It took Yuugao a few seconds before she released the hold her sword has on Mizuki and let the others took the Mizuki away as he pleads not to be taken to prison where he would be someone's bitch.

"That was quite harsh Hokage-sama." Yuugao said after Mizuki was shunshined away by the rest of the ANBU.

"...The man called Naruto a demon, that alone guarantees his sentence because he broke the law that forbids us to speak about it in front of said person, unconscious or not. And not to mention he used him to steal the Forbidden Scroll for what I'm sure in a selfish act to empower himself, and would have killed Naruto if Iruka wasn't here, and because he is not a genin yet, Naruto can be considered a civilian, it was the final nail on his coffin." Hiruzen said, although he deliberately ignored Iruka's mention of the Kyuubi in front of him as well, but Yuugao already knows that the reason was that he was angry at Mizuki for wanting to kill Naruto, whom he considered as his own grandson.

In fact, there were times when someone would plan to corner Naruto to beat him, but Hiruzen ordered them to prevent it before Naruto could be aware of it, and it led to some people went 'missing'.

Yuugao smiled beneath her mask, truth be told, she was one of the ANBU who regularly watched over Naruto over the years and watched almost every moment of his life, from the way he was treated horribly by most of the people, and when some of the so-called low-life prostitutes in the Red Light District would take care of him when they saw him hungry because he had no money to pay for the overpriced food most of the merchants gave him.

Needless to say that she grows to care for him, and she lamented the fact that she wasn't able to do anything for him due to her position as an ANBU.

When she got a good look at Naruto, she saw that Iruka is kneeling in front of him and checking his condition, she finally noticed that his nose has stopped bleeding, but he's still unconscious as the crystal that he holds had turned to resemble a coal, as black as night itself.

"What happened to him Iruka-san?" Asked Yuugao.

"I... I don't know, the Crystal must have done something to him, when I touched it, it burnt my hand," He said as he shows the affected hand, "But it seems to do something else to him."

"He reacted to the Crystal's amplitude." Iruka and Yuugao turned to Hiruzen, "That Crystal was found by Tobi-sensei during one of his trip on looking after the small settlements in Hi no Kuni, it released subtle, yet powerful waves of energy, in the past, it led to some people who weren't able to withstand it's influence to go mad due to prolonged exposure, but yet, this reaction isn't what I expected... Take him to the hospital, we need to check his well-being and the Crystal effects on him."

Iruka nodded, and moved his hands towards Naruto to carry him.

But then, the boy opened his eyes and jumped away.

The sudden movement made Iruka back away for a bit, but then Iruka, along with the Hiruzen and Yuugao, saw his eyes.

Instead of its usual blue, Naruto's eye color has changed to menacing crimson, and his pupils were slitted.

Neither of them moved for a moment, before 'Naruto' turned his head towards a direction and jumped upwards, and, much to the spectator's shock, he jumped very high, until he stopped and floats in the sky.

**"...Hm... the versatility of this power is quite impressive..." **They heard 'Naruto' spoke, his voice was a few octaves deeper.

Then, with a slight booming noise, he flew away, leaving the stunned spectators down below.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

In a seemingly featureless tract of land without trees or grass in the Land of Fire, there was a loud thud and the sound of the ground cracks as 'Naruto' landed.

He looked around his surroundings before he walk towards an otherwise normal spot from the field, but compared to the condition of the surroundings, the ground on the spot was a shade lighter than the rest.

He crouched down and graze the spot with his hand, as if looking for something **'The** **vibration of the energy came from below...' **'Naruto' thought, before an uncharacteristic grin forms on his face **"Well, time to test the strength of this power..." **He said as he backed away from the spot.

Then he closed his eyes, extend his hands forward and clenched both of his fist, and through the motion of his hands, he created a localized tremor that shook the surrounding area.

His body shook, and his nose starts to bleed again, but not so much as before, then he pulled his hands, there was a huge crack before the spot was destroyed, creating a huge pit that goes deep inside.

He looked upon the dark hole and wondered what could be lying beneath it.

Not a moment after that, he hovered into the bottom of the pit, and what he saw was darkness, but the pit was quite deep, perhaps twenty feet high from top to bottom, also not to mention that it was night time, so despite the moonlight, the darkness still prevailed.

But 'Naruto' decided to move onward, and he found that the path is straightforward, no branching paths whatsoever, aside from the few left and right turns here and there but nothing more.

Then, he arrived at the heart of the cave, where it was filled with the similar Crystal from the scroll, the walls were literally filled with the substance so much that it can be considered as the wall itself.

**"So this is the source of the energy wave... it's a wonder why no one can sense it, considering even I could felt it from far away... perhaps it's because he had absorbed some of the energy from the smaller crystal? Senju... what on earth have you stumbled upon...?"**

As he got closer to the big one at the center, he noticed that the Crystals hummed loudly, as if responding to his presence.

The humming got louder and louder until it echoes throughout the cave, but through it all, 'Naruto' smiled, **"Well boy, sorry for doing this without your consent, but consider this as a payback for the shits that happened to you because of me." **He said as he touched the gigantic Crystal located at the center and it turned the Crystals in the cave red...

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Naruto slowly opens his eyes, his whole body feels heavy, as if he is carrying a bag filled to the brim with sets of encyclopedias.

"Ugh... what happened?" he muttered.

But when he got a clear sight at his surroundings, he became confused, due to the fact that there's nothing, not even a visible wall, and the only color that he can see is white.

"Where am I? Am I dead?" He asked to no one in particular.

**"You're not."**

Naruto turned around and saw something that will be burned forever in his mind.

The fabled being of legend, the feared Kyuubi no Yokou, standing in his full glory.

Unbound and uncaged.

Naruto took a step back, obviously afraid that the beast would devour him whole, or something more horrific.

As if not noticing the boy's fear, he continued **"Because if you did, I wouldn't be here now would I?"**

"W-Wha, wha... what are y-you doing here?"

Silence reigned for a few moments before he replied, **"Spending my leisure time." **The terrifying beast answered.

Naruto face-faulted, that's not the answer that he expected, at all. When he got his bearings, he looked at the beast incredulously "There's no way that that's the reason you're here!"

**"I kid, boy, don't get your undies in a bunch." **Kyuubi explained aloofly, however, Naruto's eyes still looked at the Bijuu before he looked around, **"If you're wondering where you are, you are inside your psyche, the manifestation of your consciousness."**

"...Then what are you doing here?"

**"I was sealed inside of you by the seal on your stomach when I attacked your village."** The Kyuubi answered,** "And I am also the reason why you are hated by the people in your village, because for the past twelve years, I was sealed inside of you****, making you a Jinchuuriki, a human sacrifice, and I am your tenant, but the people of your village let their hate cloud their judgment, and they thought of you as the 'demon fox's offspring' or something similar."**

"...Oh..." Was all that he could say.

Seeing the seeds of anger and sadness inadvertently being placed as Naruto's aura begins to grow dark and his fists' are starting to shake as he begins to feel angry at the things the villagers did and how the old man must have known but yet, for some reason, he didn't tell him, Kyuubi decides to assure him **"But don't even care what they think**,** you are who you are, and you being my Jinchuuriki has nothing to do with your character****."**

Naruto looked up towards Kyuubi, his face filled with shock, before it was replaced by a sad smile "It's kinda sad isn't it...?"

The Kyuubi raised his eyebrows, **"What is?"**

"That I find what you're saying to be the best thing that anyone ever said to me."

Kyuubi could only sigh and looked towards the boy with an emotion that can be identified as pity, **"Depending on one's perspective boy, some might find it incredibly saddening that a demon is comforting a child whose childhood is so messed up that he finds it as the best thing that anyone ever did to him, and some might find it enlightening, to see that even the Bijuu, who are called 'demons'** **by you hum****ans are in fact, capable of feeling emotions, and not as evil as you believe. To you, it might be sad, but let this open your mind a bit, for we are not creatures that can't feel emotions."  
><strong>

It took a few moments of absorbing what he said before he nods "I'll keep it in mind, thanks Kyuubi..."

**"Call me Kurama kid."**

"Okay, Kurama." Naruto replied back.

**"Now kid, if you're wondering why you're here, there's an answer for that."**

"Which is?"

**"Remember that Crystal you found within that scroll?" **Naruto nodded **"It so happens that it did something to your body... something unprecedented, even to your Shinobi world."**

Sensing some kind of amusement on the Bijuu's tone, he asked "What did it do to me?"

**"It changed you, even more so than what I could do to your genetic pool, and considering my ability to do so, that says ****a lot about the Crystal. ****Whatever that Senju found, it** **changed how your body works, and I controlled your body for a second and..."**

"Wait, stop right there. You said you controlled my body? How?" Naruto interrupted.

**"The Seal on your stomach that once held me was weakened when the Crystal forcefully merge your Chakra Coils with your body, enabling me to possess you for a few moments, don't worry, I didn't do anything really bad, well, except maybe showing your ability to fly using your newfound power to your current Hokage, but that's besides the point." **He answered before Naruto could ask what he meant by the ability to fly, **"Anyway, I possessed your body because I sensed similar Energy to the Crystal that you found, and that led me to a cave filled to the brim with the Crystals, and I absorbed all of its energies."**

"...So... you absorbed all the power from the Cave... to my body, and in doing so, making me much more powerful than that one little Crystal did to me?"

**"To put it in a nutshell." **Kurama acknowledged.

"...Why did you do that? What reason do you have that makes you want me to be strong?" Naruto asked, wanting to know his reason.

**"Payback." **Kurama answered **"****Though indirectly, you went through a messed up childhood because of me kid, now that you're powerful, you won't be looked upon like a dirt anymore, you'll be treated like you should be; someone who has so much potential that you could unlock if someone teaches you right."**

Naruto was stunned, he had never thought that the so-called 'Fox Demon' is not as hateful as he thought he would be, and not to mention that for the first time in his life, he was given something of value and complimented by someone, and so, it was no surprise that tears starts to drip down his eyes as he felt happy that someone truly acknowledged him, and so he started to cry, "T-Thank you... THANK YOU!" He yelled through his cries.

Kurama sighed looking at the son of his previous host. Beneath those similar careless, happy-go-lucky, perpetually active and outgoing personality that he can relate from his previous hosts, there lies an extremely delicate heart, no matter how much he tried to pretend that he is happy, The Bijuu knows that he had bottled up all of his emotions inside. And so he waits until he let it all out.

It took quite a few moments before Naruto finally calmed down, his eyes all red and puffy because of the spent tears that he had kept for many years.

**"Feeling better?"**

Naruto sniffed before he answered "A lot."

**"Good, sometimes it's best to let it out rather than keep them inside."** Kurama replied neutrally, **"Now, back to business, the power that the Crystal gave you is the power to extend your range of manipulation. For example, with your brain, you can control which way you're going by using your legs to get you there, and with your brain you could also use your hands to move something towards the direction you want it to go,** **right?"** Naruto nodded in confirmation, **"Imagine that this ability to move your body and/or move something using your physical body, expanded outwards, meaning; you can control things without physically touching them. And this also means that you can control things that you couldn't before, such as controlling a motion of a rock just by using your brain, and if you're skilled enough with it, you can also control the force of nature."**

Naruto's eyes went wide, and he couldn't help but feel a bit giddy, such power would come in handy, no, it would be an _extremely_ handy power to have "Amazing...! What was that Crystal, how can it grant powers like that?"

**"Sadly, even I don't know about that part kid, and I believe the Senju who found this was also afraid at using this power... I think Mito mentioned this once when she told me how her day went... but I think I was too bored to listen to her that day... damn it, I wish I had paid more attention..." **Kurama muttered out loud.

"Who's Mito?" Naruto asked.

Kurama looked at him with his curious eyes that eerily resembled his own mother's curious stare, bore upon him, deciding to earn his trust, he decided to tell the truth **"Mito Uzumaki, my first host, and I believe that she was your great aunt.****" 'Seeing that she's not really Kushina's mother.'**

Naruto was excited, he had a family! but then he remembered what Kurama said next, "Wait, your first host?"

**"Long story kid, long story, to make it simple, there were two hosts before you, one of them is Mito Uzumaki, and the second one was Kushina Uzumaki, if you want to know who they are, you have to wait for a while, okay?" **Kyuubi asked.

Naruto was disappointed, but nevertheless agreed to wait. Because he realized that now is not the time to reveal secrets and such, they still have plenty of time.

** "Returning back to the previous topic, it has been a few hours since your body absorbed those energies, and your mind woke up only a few minutes ago as the energy made your body and consciousness to shut down so that you don't have to feel the pain you would receive if you were conscious."**

"Okay, where am I now? You know, physically."

**"You are still in Hi no Kuni, but Konoha is quite far from here, more or less a hundred miles apart, northwest from here to there, I think."**

"Whoa, that far away huh? Okay, so... what do you reckon I should do first?"

**"In all honesty? Train. This power of yours is massive, you need to learn how to control it before you can show it off to your Hokage and your peers."**

Naruto understood it, there's no way that he could immediately master anything, even though he can learn something quite fast whenever he want to, there's no way that he could immediately control this power without some practice.

"Okay, any suggestion as to where we would be training?"

**"When I flew here, I saw a settlement not far from here, half a mile to the west, go over there and ask for clothing and such, your body has changed quite a lot and your previous clothes are too small for you now. From there, we'll train for at least a few days before we go back to Konoha."  
><strong>

Naruto nodded, "Okay," He said, his voice is filled with determination, but then, his expression changed to that of a confusion before he asked "Wait, you flew...? Using my body? Am I capable of doing that?" Naruto asked, his tone didn't even try to mask the excitement that he felt.

**"You will be after a lot of practice, now go on, wake up already."**

"Alright, alright." Naruto answered, he closed his eyes, before he frowned, he opened his eyes and looked towards Kurama with a sheepish smile, "So... how can I get out of here?" he asked with his hand sheepishly scratches the back of his neck.

**"...Right, forgot this is your first time here." **Kurama muttered **"Just imagine yourself waking up.****" **He answered.

"...That simple?"

Kurama grinned, showing his sharp teeth in the process, **"Sometimes things are just that simple kid."**

Naruto does so, he closed his eyes, and slowly, he could feel himself waking up... and then, Kurama watched as the apparition of Naruto vanished from his mind.

Kurama chuckled, obviously finding the current situation to be rather amusing **"To think that the power that the Senju feared to be unleashed would come to this boy... Fate sure is a funny thing..."**

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Naruto opened his eyes slowly as he regained control of his physical body.

He was lying down on his chest, seeing this, he pushed himself up, and had a hard time balancing himself on his feet for a few seconds due to his added height.

When he could fully stand up, he saw that he was in a cave, and he saw the Crystals that are similar in shape to the one he retrieved from the Scroll is extremely abundant, but the difference was that the Crystal is now as black as a coal, due to the latent energy that was inside of them was completely absorbed to his body.

And because the Crystals are no longer producing light, there was only one source of light, indicating a way out, and also that it's now daytime, or at the very least, morning.

Naruto walked towards the dim light, and then he found himself facing a dead end. There is a hole, but it was so high up, he could climb, but he's not used to his body just yet.

"Great, how can I get out of this cave?" Naruto said, not noticing that his hoarse voice is somewhat deeper, like he had just went through puberty.

_**"Why don't you use your power to lift you up?"**_ Kurama said.

"Whoa...! how come I can hear you?"

He heard a sigh before Kurama replied back _**"Right, forgot to tell you this; the seal merged with you, meaning, that our connection with each other is improved, even without visiting me in your conscience you can hear my voice if I will it to. And this does mean that you are the seal now, and for me to break through is not by weakening the tattoo on your stomach, but by killing you, which is unlikely if you're powerful enough to stop anyone who would do such a thing." **_Kurama answered **"_Returning to your problem, try to use your power to lift yourself."_**

"...How can I do that?"

_**"Just think that you are lifting off the ground, that would be the first lesson ; levitation**__**. Try to lift yourself until you reached the surface."**_

"...Okay..." Naruto said as he prepared himself, he looked down and focus his mind to 'command' his body to lift.

Suddenly, the pebbles and dusts around him reacted, and before he even realized it, his feet doesn't even touch the ground anymore as he found himself floating.

"Whoooooaaa...! I... I'm flying! I'm flying! I. Am. Flying! Hahahha! this is amazing!" Naruto said breathlessly.

_**"Calm yourself kit, now, push yourself up until you manage to get out of the cave."**_

"Whooaa...! O, Okay...!" Naruto responded back, still as breathless as before.

Slowly but surely, Naruto pushed himself upwards using his power, not a moment later, he reached the surface, and landed on the ground, and he couldn't even hide the wide grin on his face.

He jumped in celebration and yelled "Hell Yeah! I can fly! This power's awesome!"

**"_Now don't go around celebrating just yet, that was just levitation, true flight is when you're soaring across the sky, it's just the first step in your journey kid."_**

Naruto pouted and grumbled "Mood-killer..."

Then, he heard what seems to be chortle inside of his mind _**"I don't mean to burst your bubble kid, I'm merely stating a fact." 'Although... it was pretty quick for him to levitate like that, I guess he has an innate grasp of this power more than I**** thought he has...'**_

Naruto merely grumbled, 'Maybe I did overreact a bit, but I was flying dammit! ...Well, maybe just floating, but it still counts!'

_**"No it isn't..."**_Kurama answered, catching Naruto off-guard, _**"For the record, I can hear what you're thinking as well, so until you can block me, expect me to butt-in to whatever you're saying or thinking."**_

In response, he grumbled "Fine... I'll shut up... for now..."

_**"Good, now, I'm sure that if you take a look at yourself you would notice that your current clothing makes you look like a clown."**_

Naruto looked down, it's true, his orange jacket is extremely tight and no longer hiding his figure, his orange trousers are now a pair of shorts, and his sandals could barely cover his feet. "Oh man... I look hideous!" He said as he removed the uncomfortably small Sandals.

_**'Huh... it seems that his body grows more than it did before, even his clothes aren't that small compared to when I possessed his body.'**_Kurama thought before he said _**"Don't fret, go to the nearest settlement there and ask for some clothes, if they see what you're wearing I'm sure one of them would be more than happy to give you some clothes." **_Kurama said sarcastically.

"I'm sure they would laugh at me first, and_ then _give me some clothes..." Naruto replied back "But since I don't want to go back to Konoha just yet, I'll give it a try, which way is it?"

_**"Half a mile from here, to the west."**_Kurama instructed.

Naruto mentally nodded and began to sprint towards his destination.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

As his host begins to move towards the small settlement, Kurama decided to move around the empty psyche.

Due to the Chakra coils fusing with his body, the seal was also dragged along, thus, interfering his captivity in the uncomfortable cage that Minato had created. Because despite his wife's assurance that he won't try to break away, Minato didn't want to take any chances and modify the original seal a bit.

Kushina had repeatedly apologized, and unknown to her husband, she undid the modification on the seal to let him have some degree of freedom inside her seal, like his time with Mito Uzumaki before her death.

The seal that was put on Naruto was the same as Kushina's, but without her, Kurama was put in the abominable cage for several years as he watched Kushina's son being treated like a trash, a bastard child, while they should be thanking him.

Granted, the Hokage did prevent physical abuses that could have been done to him, but the cold treatment of the villagers made him a bit darker, he felt his emotions when he had a passing thought of confusion of why most villagers hate him, or when he was angry at a merchant's refusal to admit that he overpriced his goods only to him.

It was lucky that he still keep close contact with people like Iruka, Hiruzen, and Ayame and Teuchi from the ramen stand that he likes to visit most of the time, people that actually cared for him and doesn't judge him because of his status as a Jinchuuriki.

**'It was only because of their emotional support and his strong will and determination to prove them wrong that keeps him from inadvertently using my power for revenge, ****and considering how he was treated, if he had asked, I wouldn't be able to say no...' **Kurama thought sadly.

But now, things are different, and maybe with this, he could help him overcome the foolishness of the villagers' treatment and to prove that they were wrong.

Suddenly, he heard something from behind him, like a combination of a humming noise and crackles from an electrical source.

He turned around to see what it was, and he saw a light, it was formless at first, but as time passed, it's starting to look more human-like before it finally burst, revealing someone...

And he was surprised to see her once again...

The woman slowly woke up and groaned "Ugh... what the hell was that...?"

Kurama, even though seeing that she is as naked as the day she was born, wasn't fazed at the very least, in fact, he merely smiled, not a perverted one, but a genuine smile with a hint of amusement and interest.

**"Well, well..." **He said as the woman finally noticed his presence **"How did _you _get in here I wonder?"**

...

* * *

><p><strong>End of <strong>**Prologue**

* * *

><p>And that's all folks! Hopefully I'll update this story as soon as I can.<p>

By the way, if you're wondering why Kurama could immediately use Naruto's power to fly and create a small tremor, it's because he could actually fully control the energy that enables Naruto to do so, and Naruto haven't fully mastered it yet so he had to train first before he could unlock the massive potential from the power that he has.

And by giving Naruto the first taste of his power by levitating himself, it would make him want to train so that he could unlock many other things that he could do with his power.

Stay tune for the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 1: The Humble Beginning

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Naruto, or Chronicle, I'd be a satisfied man if I do.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Humble Beginning.<br>**

* * *

><p><strong>Welcome to Shirohane.<strong>

"White feather…? Weird name for a settlement…" Naruto muttered as he sees the settlement's plaque standing just outside of it.

It was small, mostly, it contains several houses, an inn, an adequately large hall that seems to house the local leader, and a general shop, and the people around him are doing their own activities.

He walked towards the general shop, passing by the villagers who are looking at him incredulously due to his clothing, one of them even points and laugh at him, but he ignored them until he finally enter the general shop named; Vigilance, All-Purpose Shop.

'Vigilance, huh?' Naruto thought before entering the shop.

It was an adequately sized shop, most of the stuff there are for the daily lives of the villagers, yet, there are several weapons, pouches, and clothes on display as well, but it's not that surprising, considering that it did say 'All-Purpose Shop', it must be for a reason.

There was also a young man attending the counter, quite good-looking, short scruffy black hair, brown eyes, wearing a short-sleeved plain black shirt, a pair of beige-colored shorts, and a pair of green colored sandals.

His height is about 5.7 feet tall, Naruto suspected that they have the same age due to his youthful-looking face, he has an emotionless visage, either he's good at masking his emotions, or that he rarely express his emotions.

Suddenly, the young man turned his attention onto him, "Welcome to Vigilance, which is the only shop in here, so we're pretty much handling everything…" he said in a smooth voice, "Well, mostly me, my sister always go out there and doing god knows what, but she always brought things, it was junk mostly, but sometimes she brought things that can be sold to other settlements, or one of the bigger merchants from one of the hidden villages, whether from Konoha, or somewhere else, which is a good thing, considering that it's one way to gain more money, but…"

He trailed off as he looked at Naruto with a sly smile, "…I'm guessing you're not here to listen to my story… my name is Sakihara Shinji, but call me by my given name, Shinji. What can I do for you newcomer?"

Naruto feels a bit awkward after hearing his long ramble, but then he said "I'm looking for some clothes."

Shinji grinned playfully, "I can see that," he said in an amused tone, "But I guess the next thing you're going to say is that you don't have any money to buy one, am I correct?"

Naruto laughed sheepishly, "Hehe… Yeah, you got that right…" he said as he scratches the back of his neck.

Shinji sighed, but Naruto felt as if he's only pretending like he's disappointed, "Can't help it then…" He said as opened the door behind the counter, revealing a set of stairs leading towards the second floor, "Go upstairs, open the first door on your left, and search the largest drawer, it contains some of my used clothes, pick something that fits."

Naruto smiled, and said "Thank you!" as he walks towards the door.

"But wait." Shinji said "Tell me your name first, kid."

The blonde young man smiled, "Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." He answered, "But… can I ask you something? Not that I'm complaining about you giving me clothes, but… why do you trust me so easily? You even give me your used clothing for free"

Shinji shrugged "Call it a hunch, you look like someone who's not that good at lying, and they also say that I'm an excellent judge of character, so I'll give it a shot, see where this'll lead."

"…That's it?"

"That's it." He confirmed, "But you need to pay me back for it, say... stay for a while, and do some grunt work?"

"Ah..." Naruto said, "There's the catch."

"Expected that did you?" Shinji responded with an amused smile "I think I like you kid, now go already, any minute now, my eyes are going to bleed seeing you like that."

Naruto smiled sheepishly and nodded as he climbs the stairs.

…

* * *

><p>…<p>

Outside the store, a dark cloud seems to hang over the villagers' heads as a frightening figure walks down the road towards it.

The figure was female, 6.0 feet tall, heart-shaped face, long, spiky blonde hair, brown eyes that held a perpetually cold glare, and her plump lips seems to accentuate her cold expression.

She wears an unbuttoned black longcoat that reached to her knees, a v-neck dark blue shirt that shows a bit of cleavage of her exquisitely large breasts, a pair of black-colored pants that hugged her lower figure very nicely, and elegant-looking black sandals with higher heels.

On her shoulders, she carried an _extremely _large sack, containing various items, mostly it was armors and weapons usually worn by bandits, but there's also several jewelries, from rubies to diamonds, whether it was in a form of a necklace, a pair of earrings, or even a gold tooth from an unknown source.

The woman marched down, her unflinching walk intimidated most, if not all the villagers that she passed by and finally arrived in front of her goal.

A shop named Vigilance.

She knocked twice, and before anyone could answer it, she barged in with her kick that sent the door swinging wildly.

Shinji doesn't act so surprise, in fact, he merely smiled knowingly and said "Welcome home nee-chan. You're pretty early..."

She grinned, "It was a pretty quick raid, two large camps, and no less than thirty-five bandits who prowled around looking for trade caravans or rich people that walks around the road without an escort or two, I already sold most of my loot to Tanzaku Gai, and let's keep the rest on the storage room for now."

Shinji smiled, "Consider it done." He said as he lifted the sack with a grunt towards the basement.

The blonde haired woman discard her longcoat and then goes towards one of the shelves behind the counter, grabbed a jug of Sake inside it and began to drink it.

The sound of the door leading to the stairway upstairs being opened caught her attention.

"This fits nicely! Thanks Shinji-san!"

She stopped drinking the Sake and looked towards the one who spoke.

He is a young man with short, spiky blonde hair, tanned skin, oceanic blue-colored eyes that shines innocently, and three pair of whiskers on each cheek marred his handsome face.

Standing at 5.4 feet tall, the boy wears a short-sleeved black shirt with a symbol of white-colored three concentric circles on his chest, a dark blue jeans with white stripes on each sides that goes from the waistline to the the bottom. And a pair of black shoes with white shoelaces.

'Those are Shinji's clothing... who is this kid?' She thought "Who are you?" She asked the younger blonde.

The boy looks confused, but then he asked back, "Wait... who are _you_? You're not Shinji-san."

"I ask the questions here kid, this is my brother's store, and you are a stranger, so I ask again... who are you?"

Hearing the part where she said that this is her brother's store, Naruto realized that the person in front of him is his sister, but before he could explain himself, the door to the basement was opened, and along came Shinji.

Seeing the situation in front of him, he said "... Ah, I see you've met my sister, Naruto, meet Shizuka, she's my older sister. Nee-chan, meet Naruto, he's our new employee, if you want to call it that."

...

For a few minutes there were silence, for different reasons.

Shinji is waiting for either one's response, particularly Naruto, but said boy feels a bit awkward at the silence, but doesn't dare to begin, while Shizuka...

She sighed, and broke the silence with... "As long as you don't overwork him... we don't need an overworked child on our conscience."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted indignantly, "I'm not a child, don't worry, I can handle anything you throw at me. Although..." He trailed off as he walked towards Shinji and whispered something out of Shizuka's hearing range.

After hearing what Naruto has to say, Shinji nodded "Of course, I'm not that tyrannical to not give you some free time after all."

Then he smiled, a dazzling smile that made Shizuka's cheeks reddened a bit due to his innocent cuteness, she turned her head around to hide her flushed face. 'Must... Resist... Hugging him...' She repeated the thought to prevent herself crushing the boy's head on her bosom.

"Thanks...! So... when do I start?"

"Tomorrow is best I think." Shizuka answered, "Get used to how we do things first, Shinji, show him the ropes first, will you?"

"Of course," He answered with a smile, "Be happy to."

Then, Shinji began to explain what he's going to do around the store, and how to do it.

Amidst it all, Shizuka looked towards Naruto in curiosity, '...Where have I seen him before...? He look somewhat familiar...'

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Naruto sighed in relief when Shinji finished his quick 101 to the things he should do.

Mostly it was cleaning, sending packages to clients, and help or persuade customers to pick their items in the shop.

Mundane stuff, but he accepted it, mostly because out of gratitude towards the siblings' kindness.

'You get something from someone, you give them something back in return, it's only right.' Naruto thought.

After Shinji finished explaining, Naruto's stomach growled, with an amused snicker, he brought him to the restaurant at the inn for lunch, they didn't serve ramen there, but as far as he's concerned, when you're hungry, you take what you can get.

And now, it was afternoon, and Naruto find himself in a clearing near the Crystal cave, sitting in cross-legged sitting position, and relaxing himself by breathing in and out slowly and rhythmically.

He had asked permission from Shinji to go somewhere until the evening after they had lunch, which he accepted, albeit when he asked for what, Naruto lied and said that he wants to explore the surroundings.

And Shinji also said that he has to return to the store before nightfall.

But the real reason was that he want to practice his new-found power, when he arrived at the clearing, he tried to contact Kurama, but he was... unavailable, for whatever reason.

However, Naruto decided that he would train, with or without Kurama's guidance.

'Okay, first things first... levitation, gotta master the basics...' He thought.

He closed his eyes, focusing towards the pebbles that he gathered around his position.

With a mere thought, they rattled, Naruto concentrates even more and then, the pebbles lifted off the ground, as if there's an invisible force that levitates them.

Naruto frowned when he feels the discomforting stimulation on the back of his head, 'It's still somewhat painful to lift many things at once...' he thought, but he kept his control over the pebbles, ignoring the itch in his head.

Thirty minutes passed before he becomes comfortable lifting the pebbles off the ground, this time, he pushes himself further, and lift himself off the ground along with the pebbles.

The discomfort came back, but it was only half as painful as before 'I must be getting adapted to my powers...' he thought.

Ten minutes later, the pain dispersed, and Naruto decided to take things even further, he arranged the pebbles so that it moves in a circular motion around him, like a satellite rotating around a planet, but he's also making the pebbles rotates two-fold, by circling him horizontally, and vertically.

Ignoring the increasing discomfort in his head, Naruto keep his control over the pebbles as he clenched his eyes shut.

Slowly, Naruto made the rotation to go faster, ignoring his limits.

Then, he made each pebbles rotates on its own axis while keeping them in rotating motion towards him as the axis.

It goes faster and faster, each seconds passed as Naruto increases the velocity of every rotation, until...

_**"...!..."**_ "Aaaaargh!"

A jolt of an excruciating pain from his head made him lose his focus, Naruto, along with the pebbles, stopped levitating and fell down with a loud thud.

"Ugh..." Naruto groaned as he opened his eyes and pick himself up. But as he look down, he saw a puddle of blood.

Seeing something red dripping towards the puddle from his head, he reached to his nose, and realized that throughout his whole practice, he was bleeding profusely, and seeing the size of the puddle, it's a wonder why he didn't pass out due to large amount of blood loss.

'Thankfully, the bleeding has stopped, and my head feels fine now...'

He sat down, close his eyes and wiped the remnant of the blood on his upper lip.

"Using too much of it and the pain multiplies until I can't go on huh... maybe it's like a rubber, too much strain, it would rip apart, but keep pulling until the breaking point without ripping it, the limit of which it can stretch multiplies... if I keep on practicing, I will get stronger and stronger with each strain." Naruto deducted.

He grinned, and his eyes shines with determination, "Then I'll keep practicing until I drop." he said, determined to become stronger.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

_Vigilance._

"...Ne, Shinji, where the hell is that kid?"

It was late in the afternoon, the Sakihara siblings are sitting in the living room behind the store, waiting for the blonde young man who hasn't come back yet. And despite his sister's irritated tone, Shinji can sense some trepidation on her expression, inadvertently showing her worry for the blonde boy.

"I don't know Nee-san... he just said that he's going to take a walk... I have no idea where he went."

Shizuka clicked her tongue, a sign of annoyance, "You should've asked, now we don't know where to look to find him..."

As if on cue, the front door opened, they went to check who it was, since the shop is already closed, and there they saw Naruto, whose expression and physical state shows how exhausted he is, as if he had been ordered to run ten laps around the settlement non-stop.

Not to mention the trails of what appears to be remnant of dried blood on his upper lip that he had tried to wipe off completely.

"I'm back..." He said tiredly.

Seeing the state of the male blonde, Shinji wanted to ask what's going on, but his sister beat him to the punch as she approached Naruto, and then she grabbed him and examine him.

"...You're extremely exhausted, not to mention the dehydration... what were you doing to get like this?" Shizuka asked.

The blonde boy smiled weakly, "A secret..." He said before he regained his bearings and sat on one of the chairs in the living room.

Seeing the looks he got, Naruto raised his hands to prevent them from asking, "I'm alright, I just need a drink to recuperate, my ability to recover from exhaustion is something I'm proud of, it didn't fail me before, it won't fail me now, so... can I get a drink? A water would be fine..."

Shizuka looked at her brother, who nodded and gave him a glass of water, which he drank without hesitation.

After he finished drinking, Shizuka said to Naruto, "Feeling better?"

He gave her a thumbs up along with his foxy grin, "Yup! All better now!"

**"Grrroooo..."**

...that is, before his stomach growls again.

Naruto sheepishly scratches the back of his neck, Shizuka giggled cutely, and Shinji chuckled, "I'll get you something to eat..." He said as he goes to the kitchen.

Half an hour after he was gone, Shizuka walked closer to Naruto, "Naruto... I want to ask you something, answer it honestly." She said.

"Sure, what is it?"

She took a breath before she said "...do you trust us?" She asked him.

He hesitated a bit, but he answered, "...Yeah, of course I trust you guys, you give me clothes and food for free, why would you ask that?"

She put her hands on his shoulders "Then, tell me the truth, what were you doing to the point it made you that exhausted?" She asked as he looked into his eyes.

"Well..." He unsurely started, the more he stared at her eyes, he got more and more uncomfortable, it's as if her eyes can see through his mind.

"Naruto." She said as she tightened the grip on his shoulders "Please. Tell me."

The blonde boy becomes more uncomfortable at her piercing gaze, but inwardly, he realized something, that she merely acted like a big sister to him , a mothering big sister, even.

He let himself smile, to Naruto, who spent most of his childhood without someone treating him like a part of a family, this is a new and immensely pleasant experience, 'This feels... nice.' He thought blissfully.

Meanwhile, Shizuka was confused as to why Naruto smiled, and his melancholic expression saddens her, it's as innocent as a child's smile, but yet, it's also filled with something akin to sadness, and it hurts her to see him like that.

"...Naruto?" She asked, breaking him out of his reverie.

Naruto looks at her, and said "Tomorrow."

"...Eh?"

"I'll show what I was doing to you and Shinji-san tomorrow, is that okay?"

She raised her eyebrows in confusion "Why can't you tell us now?"

He smiled, "Let's just say that I'd prefer to show it to you guys rather than tell you, but I'm too tired for it now..."

The blonde-haired woman become more confused as to what he meant, but before she could ask more, Shinji arrived with three bowl of Katsudon, two of them are bigger than the last one.

"Here you go, it's Katsudon, I made them for all three of us, along with extra portion for you nee-chan, along with you Naruto, because it seems that you need the extra servings." He said as he picked the regular-sized bowl.

"Alright!" Naruto said as he grabbed one of the bigger bowls and began to eat the Katsudon vigorously.

Shizuka sighed, but smiled when he watched the Naruto eating the Katsudon with a bright smile, unlike the previous one he had, she took one of the bigger bowls and began to eat it as well.

...

It was another twenty minutes gone when they finally finished eating the Katsudon.

"Gochisou-sama!" Naruto and Shizuka said at the same time.

Shinji chuckled "It turns out that you're a voracious eater like Nee-chan, I swear, are you related to any of us?"

Naruto chuckled sheepishly, "Hehe, I don't think so... I think I'm just a passionate eater."

"I think passionate is an understatement... but nevertheless, it seems that you're all better now that you're stomach is filled. That's a relief."

Naruto grinned and said "What did I tell you? I can recover from anything easily."

Shinji nodded, "And we'll never question that claim ever again." He said evenly before he continued "Now, seeing that you don't have a place to stay, and you don't have any money to stay at our local inn, I'm proposing that you stay with us."

"Wait... we don't have a spare room, so where is he going to sleep? On the couch?" Shizuka asked her brother.

"Well... considering that you have the bigger room, and that your bed is bigger than mine... why don't he sleep with you?" He asked it as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

...

"...Wait, what?" the younger blonde said incredulously.

Shinji shrugged, "The viable option is either that, or having him sleeping on the couch, which one do you want?"

"Well...! The couch is fine! I'll-"

"No." Shizuka interrupted, "You're not sleeping on the couch, he's right, my bed _is _bigger, it would be fine if you sleep there."

"But... where will you sleep?" Naruto asked.

"On the same bed, of course."

...

"No, no, no, no, no, NO!" Naruto declined as he makes an x-shape using his arms.

She raised her eyebrows, obviously confused, "Why not?"

"Because...! You're... a girl! You're not afraid that I might do something to you?"

"Will you do something to me while I'm asleep?"

He shook his head, "No, of course not, I would never do that. But still, why are you okay with this?"

She shrugged, "You trust us, I figure I might as well trust you at this."

It got him there. It's kind of hard to refute her logic, 'But still...! Why isn't she worried about that? ... Oh, maybe she only thought of me as a little brother or something... yeah, that's gotta be the reason...' He rationalized.

Naruto sighed, "Fine... I'll... sleep with you..." He grumbled with a little blush on his cheeks.

Shizuka grabbed him and pulled him into a headlock, "Aww...! You're blushing! So cute...!" She said as she pinched his cheeks.

"H-Hey...! Let me go!" Naruto said as he struggled against the older blonde's grip.

Seeing this, Shinji merely chuckled, 'It's just like how she used to dote me all the time when we were little...' He thought as he sighed, 'Well... even though I can just offer him my room and sleep in the sofa, this is much more interesting...' He thought mischievously.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Naruto stared at the double bed in front of him.

"What are you doing? Get on the bed already..." drawled Shizuka.

He looked behind him, and saw the figure of the blonde woman, who are only wearing a peach-colored pair of short shorts, and a black shirt that did nothing to hide her navel, nor her cleavage.

And he wears black shorts along with an orange shirt from the drawer, but due to the rarity of underwear, he is thinly layered. And if she crawled over to him in bed when they're asleep...

Let's just say that when he wakes up, he's going to be in a deep trouble.

He walks towards the left side of the bed, and lied there while facing the wall, the direct opposite of facing the other side of the bed.

"Good night..." He mumbled out.

He heard her giggle before sighing, then he felt the bed shook a little bit as she climbed to the other side of the bed.

"Good night Naruto." She said to him.

And so, both of them drifted off to sleep.

...

That is what Naruto wished would happen.

For the past thirty minutes, the blonde boy tried his hardest to go to sleep, but he was unable to do so due to the thought of sharing the bed with the older, and much more mature blonde woman besides him.

Not to mention her fragrance that caused him discomfort, due to him not used to being in such close proximity to a girl.

'Sleep, sleep, sleep! Damn it! Go to sleep already Naruto! Just ignore her scent. Her sweet... relaxing, scent... Gaaaaah! Why do I think about that! Now I can't stop thinking about it...!'

...Well, he summed it up pretty well on his inner monologue.

But, as he clenched his eyes shut to ignore the fact that he's sleeping in the same bed with an adult woman, he felt a familiar pull on the back of his head, and before he know it, his physical body shuts down as he entered his psyche.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

And the emptiness of his psyche welcomes him once again.

He looked around, and when he didn't see Kurama anywhere, he called him "Kurama! Where are you?"

The echoes of something materialized diverted his attention.

And there he was, the gigantic Nine-tailed demon fox stand on all fours and looking at Naruto with a grin.

**"You rang kit?" **He asked.

Naruto looked at the huge fox without fear in his eyes, merely a slight annoyance "You're the one who called me here right? Not that I'm complaining, it helps with my... current predicament."

In response, Kurama's grin widened, **"I noticed... it was also one of the reason why I pulled you here in the first place."**

He blushed a little bit, but he said "Thanks for that by the way... now, what's the other reason?"

The fox's expression turned serious, and then he said **"It's about a problem I encounter when I checked your psyche."**

"...What did you find?" Naruto asked.

He looked towards Naruto, and asked him; **"Did you feel any different? As if you're not acting like you used to?"**

It took a minute before Naruto said "...No... at least I don't think so... why would you ask that?"

**"Because if it you didn't change before, it should happen in the next few days."**

Naruto was confused as to what Kurama mean, actually, confused is a... mild way to put it, what Naruto feels right now is a mixture of bewilderment, perplexity, and a twinge of discombobulation. "Wait... what... what the hell are you talking about!"

Kurama sighed, before he said **"It had something to do with what was put within the seal." **Kurama started, **"You know the fact that you were sealed ****by Yondaime Hokage right?"**

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I do know. I pieced together what you said about me being your Jinchuuriki and about how it must be Yondaime who sealed you, because he's the one who allegedly 'defeated' you." Naruto answered.

Kurama went silent for a fraction of a second, before he asked **"How, and when, did you come to that conclusion?"**

Naruto placed his hand on his chin as he tried to remember when, before he answered; "I guess it was when I'm practicing my powers... come to think of it... I did feel strange back then... like a... moment..."

...

* * *

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_Flashback, Hours before Naruto came back to the store._

Naruto was sitting beneath a tree as he catch his breath and wiping the blood on his upper lip.

He managed to exert his limits beyond what he can do, proving that the more he used it, the more he get used to it, and the stronger it will become.

Right now, he can control massive amount of pebbles, and with his power, he also uprooted a tree and managed to lift it for exactly ten seconds, but that _really _pushed him over the edge as he's become immensely tired, due to the amount of blood loss and the pain on the back of his head.

As he closed his eyes to calm himself, he thought,'Yes...! I did it! I manage to lift the tree off from the ground...' But then, he said "But not without a cost though..." He tiredly muttered.

He chuckled tiredly, and before he knew it, he began to drift to sleep.

And during which, he saw glimpses, like a broken record that shows segmented chapters randomly. There was a vision where he was sitting in the Shinobi Academy, but there was no one that he could recognize, and on the same place, there was a hot-headed redhead who claimed that she was going to be the first Hokage who is a woman and how the whole students laughed at her except for him, then he saw glimpses of him plunging a kunai on someone's throat, him studying an intricate seal, him moving so quickly from one place to another, and him rescuing the grown-up redhead from before and held her on his arms as she looked at him affectionately.

On the last vision, Naruto abruptly open his eyes, his pupils dilated as he still remembered those vivid dreams as if it was a memory that he couldn't forget.

"What the hell was that?" He muttered out loud.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

"...but I figured that it was only a dream, so I pay it no mind..." He said before he turned to Kurama, "...That... that doesn't mean anything, ...right?"

There was another moment of silence before Kurama said, **"Hate to burst your bubble kit, but that does mean something." **Before Naruto could ask what he meant, Kurama continues, **"Look here." **He said as he walked towards a particular direction towards... something.

He stopped, and then he extend his hand, and there was a shimmering light, a moment later, the shimmering light formed a rectangular shape, and it shows something, like a recording of some kind.

Naruto looked at it as it shows multiple segments of events, as Naruto looked on, his expression betrays the bewilderment that he feels, "Th... those are the visions that I saw! How-?"

Kurama sighed, the echoes reverberate throughout Naruto's psyche, **"It has something to do with the seals that was in your stomach." **He answered, **"You see, when the Yondaime sealed me**, **he also put something else, it turns out that there were two seals, one containing me..." **He trailed off, **"And one of them, contain****ed his body double, his doppelganger."**

"...Wait..." Naruto asked, as he rubbed his fingers on the bridge of his nose. "Am I right to assume that he put that as a last resort if I were... for whatever reason, release you from your cage?"

Kurama smiled **"I thought the same thing as well... that was his primary reason... but the problem is that... the seal containing his doppelganger also merged with you, and since it's a near-perfect copy of him... it also contain his personality, part of the original's powers... and with it, his memories until his death."**

Naruto's eyes widened, "...So... those dreams were his memories...? He's a part of me now?"

Kurama nodded, **"In a sense.** **Right now, his identity is forever lost, but his memories and some of his power** **still ****remain... in yours."**

Naruto's expression look aghast, he couldn't believe it, he couldn't believe he had inadvertently absorbed Yondaime's memories and essence, "What will happen now? I'm not going to have some identity crisis where I can't differentiate myself from him am I?" Naruto asked, his tone filled with worry.

Kurama shook his head **"No, it won't be that way, I admit, I speculated that scenario as well, but the repercussion isn't as fatal as that, consider it like an enhancement for you, it won't change you one-hundred percent, but it will improve you to say the least."**

Naruto sighed in relief, "Oh good..." He said, "I thought I'm going to lose my personality or something... that really terrified me for a second..." He muttered in relief.

Seeing his reaction, Kurama merely grinned, **"****Well, initially, I also thought that you would lose your personality and he would materialize here instead of you, but after I did a lot of checking, that wasn't the case****, just thought you should know about what I encounter, in case the memories already seeped in."**

Naruto smiled at Kurama, "Well... thanks for the heads-up, I appreciate it, anything else I should know about?"

This time, Naruto managed to see the fox's expression changed to that of hesitation, if only slightly, but it soon changed to a more composed one, **"No, if I found anything else, I will let you know."**

Naruto frowned lightly, 'He's hiding something...' he thought, but he quell the desire to ask him as he said "Very well, good night Kurama." He said as his apparition dispersed, indicating that his consciousness has moved to his physical body.

A moment after he's gone, a figure emerged from behind Kurama, as if recognizing her presence, he sighed, and said **"I sensed your hesitance to show yourself to him back there... mind telling me why..." **Kurama said as he turned to the woman behind him, **"...Kushina?"**

On her part, the woman with long red hair clothed in earthly-colored short-sleeved shirt and black long skirt looked serious.

"...I told you Kurama, it's not the time... he doesn't even know who his father was yet..."

**"And your hesitance doesn't help the matter at hand,"** Kurama replied back** "What do you think is going to happen? That he's going to start hating you for your action of sealing me into him, and making him experience a childhood where he's mostly estranged by the villagers and their children out of their stupidity and hatred? From what I have seen, he won't do that. He will get angry, sure, but not to the extent of hating you."**

Kushina's expression brightened, even if it was only for a little bit, but she shook her head, "Even though you may be right... breaking such news to him out of the blue is not the right way either... right now, he knows that he has Minato's memories, and soon, the memories will become clearer and clearer... until it comes to one point when he will saw the event that will lead him to ask you directly, and then, I will show myself to him."

Kurama grinned as he understood what she meant **"Ah... the moment of his birth... now that _will _raise some questions... very clever of you..."**

Kushina returned his grin in full force, "Within those long years we spent together, how come that you expect anything else from me? Never underestimate me."

Kurama merely chuckled, deep inside him, he still can't forget his surprise when she suddenly materialized out of Naruto's psyche, it turns out that Minato also placed her in the seal, but compared to his doppelganger, she is pretty much real, it is her consciousness, not a mere copy of her former self.

It took quite a long time for Kurama to explain the current situation to her, and it was a lot longer to make her get used to the situation, at least until there can be a resolution that can benefit all parties involved.

She adapted quickly, as expected of her, considering how fast she can adapt to any kind of situation in the past, it's not that surprising.

But as he's reminiscing, Kurama felt a certain... disturbance, in Naruto's emotion. As his curiosity got the better of him, he closed his eyes to connect with Naruto's consciousness in his physical body to see what it could be.

And when he saw what's happening to the boy, he laughed, he laughed so hard, and without any effort to quell it down whatsoever.

Seeing the Bijuu laughed, Kushina wondered what he could be laughing about, "What's so funny Kurama?"

It took a moment for the Bijuu to stop laughing, he turned to Kushina and said **"Hahaha...! Heh, See for yourself, see what kind of predicament your boy is in right now." **He said, his tone betrays the amusement and the enjoyment from what he had seen.

Curious, Kushina closed her eyes to see through her son's eyes...

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Naruto opened his eyes slightly, expecting to see the wall that he had stared for half an hour before he was pulled into his psyche.

But instead of a wall, his eyes were treated to something different.

Because in front of his face is a pair of cleavage from none other than Shizuka, who had moved his position of facing the wall, and hugged his face in her cleavage when he was in his psyche.

Thankfully, the position of his head allowed him to breathe freely, but he is unable to escape her grip, and he's afraid that if he moved too much, it will wake her up.

Grumbling incoherently, Naruto concedes to the fact that there's nothing he could do, and it would be rather rude to force her to wake up.

'Might as well try to sleep like this...' He thought, ignoring the heat on his cheeks as he closed his eyes, and try to let himself sleep.

As he starts to fall asleep, he could almost feel the fox's chuckle of amusement echoes in his psyche.

But he could also feel another emotion, one of irritation, and slight jealousy.

Before he could discover what, or who exuded such emotions, and from where, sleep had already claimed him.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Shizuka's eyes fluttered open as she's starting to wake up from her sleeping state.

But as soon as she starts to get fully aware of her surroundings, she felt a weird thing on her breasts.

Looking downwards, she found that when she was asleep, she used Naruto as a body pillow, but it seems that he is sleeping rather contently.

In response, she merely sighed, "This habit of mine will never cease does it...?" She asked rhetorically.

She released her clutch on the blonde boy, but never taking her eyes off his sleeping face which she finds adorable, particularly with his exotic whisker marks on his cheeks.

In an act of simple curiosity, she lightly touch the whiskers, and the act prompted the boy to purr in response.

Her cheeks reddened, and she immediately bit her lower lip as to prevent herself nuzzling the boy like a little puppy, but that didn't stop her from lightly touching the whiskers on his cheeks.

Slowly, the boy's eyes opened, prompting her to pull her hands from his cheeks with such velocity.

"Mmh... is it already morning?" The boy groaned.

"It is." Shizuka answered, then the boy suddenly remembered his previous position before he fell asleep, in response, he asked, "Ne... I noticed that you clung on to me while I was asleep..."

Shizuka chuckled as she sheepishly scratch her head and said, "Yeah... it's a habit of mine, when we were little, Shinji was always in your position until he's ten... it seems that old habits die hard huh?" She asked rhetorically.

He laughed sheepishly as he blushed, "Hehe... right..." He said awkwardly before he got off the bed and changed his clothes to what he wore yesterday, "I'll go downstairs... see if Shinji need help preparing breakfast..." He said before he gets out.

Shizuka merely chuckled, 'He's quite an interesting boy...'

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

"Ah, Naruto, you woke up quite early." Shinji greeted Naruto with pleasant tone as he entered the kitchen where the black-haired young man is preparing the meals.

"Yeah, I got... uh... I woke up early." He said hesitantly.

In response, Shinji chuckled "My sister didn't give you trouble did she?" He asked with a mischievous undertone.

Naruto stared at him with accusing eyes before he said "You already know didn't you?"

The black-haired man kept his smile, "Know what?" He innocently asked.

"About your sister's habit of using the nearest person in the same bed as a snuggle pillow."

Shinji chuckled again "Right, I forgot about that..." He said as if he had no knowledge of what would happen to Naruto if he sleeps in the same bed with his sister.

Naruto gritted his teeth in irritation, and the echoes of an amused chuckle from his tenant didn't help the matter at hand, "You... You should've told me beforehand dammit!"

"Why? It's not like you have trouble sleeping while in that position right?"

"...How did you... know...?"

Shinji merely smiled, and Naruto is beginning to feel irritated at the man's rather mischievous and amused smile as it shows that he perceives his flusters as a form of an entertainment.

"You..." Naruto started, but then he sighed and said "Nevermind... no use in getting angry at what had already happened anyway..."

Shinji raised his eyebrows, "Ah, reason before emotion... I like you more and more Naruto..."

"...Thanks..." He said awkwardly, but then he asked "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Shinji nodded and ordered him to help him to prepare the breakfast for the three of them.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

It was another quiet afternoon in Shirohane, just like it always is.

Two people came out of the famed general store, Both of them blonde, with the older being an adult woman and the other is a young man.

Then they walked towards the green plains where Naruto had been training yesterday.

As the well-organized path slowly disappeared as they goes farther and farther away from the settlement.

"Ne, Naruto, where are you taking me? Can't you just show me back at our house?"

He turned back to the woman walking behind him and said "My training spot for now... and I would rather do that there, I can't completely control it yet, I might destroy a wall or something in the process." with a smile.

Shizuka becomes confused, "Training? Destroy a wall? What are you talking about?"

"Just follow me, I'll show it shortly."

Shizuka kept the questions plaguing her inside her mind as she followed Naruto.

When they finally arrived, it was an ordinary clearing, but there are two things that stood out, one was the remnant from a cave that was previously there but now it's merely a rubble due to what appears to be a cave-in.

And the other was a tree, seventeen feet tall in height that was uprooted only recently, as evidenced by the hole from which it was uprooted.

"Whoa... who the hell did this?" Shizuka asked.

Naruto smiled with a sheepish expression, "The perpetrator would be me." He said.

Shizuka turned her head slowly to Naruto, her expression was one of 'What the hell are you talking about' if one were to speak it out loud.

Naruto sighed, "And, that's what I'm here to show you, watch." He said to Shizuka as if ordering her.

She listened, and watch as Naruto walked ten feet away from the blonde woman and picked up a rock.

It was a rock that he could cover with the size of his palm, and then, he threw the rock gently to Shizuka.

"Throw the rock at me as hard as you can."

"...What?"

"Trust me, I'll be fine."

"Wait a second, are you crazy? This rock could make your head splatter if it hits you there, I don't want to be blamed if you got badly wounded."

"Just... trust me, this is something that I want to show you anyway."

Shizuka hesitated, but seeing his fearless expression, it was clear that he did think this through, "...Fine, but don't blame me if you got hurt okay? If you do, you brought that on yourself."

"Fine." Naruto answered.

Shizuka took a throwing stance, knowing her own strength, she's going to hurt him badly if she hit one spot on his body, so she decided to be a little lenient, something that won't hurt him pretty bad but would still make him regretting his weird order.

With a slight whooshing sound, the rock flew towards Naruto.

But yet, he didn't attempt to stop it, he merely stared at it with a powerful, intimidating gaze.

And much to Shizuka's surprise, the rock slowed down until it halted in mid-air right in front of Naruto's face, and his eyes never left the rock.

"H-how... did you do that?" Shizuka asked with widened eyes.

Naruto moved his hand and grabbed the rock, in return, releasing the control he has over it, "It's my ability, apparently, I can control any kind of movements without using my physical body but by creating, or manipulating kinetic energy that can do it for me, by merely thinking about it, I am able to control anything outside the range of my physical body without actually moving it using my hands. ... But there's a lot to it than that..."

Throwing the rock back to the ground, this time Naruto focuses himself on the tree that he had uprooted, he cocked his fist back, as if intending to punch it.

But he was extremely out of range to even touch it.

But then, he extend his fist in a punching motion towards the tree, and with a loud whooshing sound from the wind and the sound of something invisible that impacted itself upon the tree, the tree budged, moving farther away from Naruto, and in the process, it also made the tree lost some of it's bark due to the sheer power of the kinetic energy that Naruto unleashed.

Shizuka shielded her eyes during it all, as the attack expelled quite a lot amount of dusts everywhere. And when she opened her eyes, she saw Naruto's unflinching form, as if he wasn't that affected by the dusts around him.

"That, is another thing that came along with my ability, focusing enough energy and offensive and/or aggressive movements from my body, I can create an explosion with a powerful magnitude. I think there's a lot that needs to be unlocked... but levitation and weaponizing the kinetic energy is the only things that I could do at the moment."

Rendered speechless, Shizuka merely stared at Naruto as if he had grown a second head.

"...Hello? Why are you looking at me like that?"

She walked closer to Naruto, her face shows that she had calmed down, and then, she put her hands on his shoulders, "That was... enlightening, to say the least, thank you for trusting me enough to show me this."

"No problem," Naruto said as he nods, "But anyway, as to why I came home looking like I was just an inch away from death, it's because I pushed my ability too far yesterday, I've adapted to it now, but back then, it was the repercussion of 'doing what you can't do yet', I guess it's like a month old human baby immediately trying to run when he doesn't even know how to stand properly."

"Blunt analogy." Shizuka remarked after she let go of Naruto's shoulders.

He shrugged, "It was something that I thought of," He said before he frowned, '...Wait... '

"Well, it's an interesting power you have," Shizuka said, cutting Naruto off from his thoughts, "But, you said that you pushed yourself too far, does it get powerful everytime you use it?"

Naruto placed his hand on his chin, "I think so... my theory is that it's elastic, the more I use it, the limits of things that I can do with it becomes lesser and lesser. It maybe a tree today, but it could be a mountain tomorrow."

Shizuka grinned, "Pretty scary," She said, even though her expression didn't show any fear, merely... visceral excitement, "Do you really think you can lift mountains next?"

"Well... I could try... but, I'll stick to push myself to get there for now." He said as he returned her grin.

"Good choice, learn to adeptly control your power first, otherwise, it might get you, or other people hurt."

"Exactly what I want to avoid." Naruto answered, "So that's that... sorry for bringing you all the way here just for that though..."

She raised her eyebrows, "_Just _for that? Naruto, that was ten-minutes of my life well-spent, seeing someone capable of such things is... a new experience, to say the least. So don't underestimate this gift that you have, use it well."

He replied "No need to tell me that." With his 'foxy' smile, "There's no way I'm letting this go to waste."

"Then I hope you'll put it to a good use." She responded, smiling as well. "But... I am interested in seeing you train, can you show me?"

"Be happy to." Naruto accepted her request with a smile.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

_A couple of hours later..._

"That was pretty awesome, what you're capable of, it's really mind-boggling..." Shizuka remarked.

Naruto, in response, merely chuckled, "Tell me about it, even I still can't wrap my head around it just yet..."

It was quite late in the afternoon when Naruto decided to call the training off for the day, Shizuka had asked him to show her more of his abilities, and pushing him over the limit again.

He trained himself in the destructive capability of his power, he figured out how to create massive kinetic blast that could send people flying, and he trained it by using said ability to forcibly uproot multiple trees.

One and a half hour into the training, and it worked, except that it was only one tree, and only half of it's roots were lifted by the sheer kinetic force, but it counts as something.

Not to mention that he discovered something else, when he was practicing his kinetic blast, a sharp projectile from the bark of the tree scratched his cheeks, it was quite painful, but yet he didn't bleed.

Intrigued, he tested his hypothesis by cutting a thick branch from a tree and turning one end of the branch to become as sharp as he can make it, then he thrust it to his own hand.

It all happened so fast in Shizuka's eyes, she wasn't able to stop him, but it turns out that she didn't have to.

Because his hand was fine, and it was the wood that ended up being destroyed.

It turns out that his whole body is covered with extremely thin yet strong kinetic barrier that protects his body like an invisible suit of armor.

Truly, he never expected how versatile his power actually is.

And right now, they are walking towards the familiar shop as they talked to each other about his so-called; 'superpower practice', but as they got closer and closer to the shop, the blondes began to notice that there was a commotion on the center of town.

Out of worry, they went there to check what's going on.

And what they saw sickens them.

A huge burly man, along with his a group of bandits that seems to act as his bodyguards is harassing the people around, and most of them is taking advantage of several women.

"Who the hell are these people?" Naruto asked as he grits his teeth.

"Bandits." Shizuka answered, "They're an annual guest to our village, due to the fact that we don't have any big village protecting us. But it looks like they're new, as the usual who came here should've learned by now that this behavior is unacceptable..." She said as she walked menacingly towards them.

And seeing the dark look in her eyes, Naruto has a feeling that it will end badly for them.

"Come on beautiful... come with us, we'll make sure you'll have some fun..." Drawled the burly man as he began to sexually harass the woman.

In a defiant act, the woman slapped his hand away, prompting the man to get angry, "You bi-!"

But, as he lifted his hand to slap the woman, his arm was grabbed, he turned around, and saw a blonde woman grabbing his arm and squeezing it so hard that everyone can hear the sound of his bones began to crack under the pressure.

"You know..." The woman started, "When a girl slapped your hand away, that's a sign that means she's repulsed by you. And that means you should leave, as fast as you can, and as quiet as you can. But if it were me, I won't just slap your filthy hands away, I would pummel you to oblivion, and then leave your carcass to be devoured by starving wolves. So in her place..." She said as she lifted her free hand and clenched her hand to form a fist, "I will do it for her."

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

'...Wow...!' Was the only thing that Naruto can thought of as Shizuka punched the man's face to the point the sound of his skull cracking can be heard.

Unsurprisingly, the other bandits became afraid, and when they are afraid...

...It made them attack her, like an animal instinct to stop cowering and attack directly when cornered, even though it may end up with them getting killed in the process.

Naruto immediately moved towards her to provide some help.

But it seems that she doesn't even need help, as when the first thug lifted his sword to attack her, she turned her body and slammed her foot towards the man's stomach, he reacted by expelling the contents of his stomach from his mouth.

Then she used her elbow to destroy the set of teeth of her next attacker, avoiding the slash of a sword from the right, she twist her body and gave a steel-hard fist towards the thug's face.

Three down, fifteen left to go.

"Urgk!" Grunted one of the bandits in pain as a knife was planted to his back.

"Maa... Maa..." Drawled Shinji as he pushed the bandit to the ground, "I was going to intervene before you came along, not in a violent way though... but I have to admit, this seems more fun than what I have in mind." he said as he pulled the knife from the bandit's back, ignoring his scream of pain, and placed it in his left hand.

Then, he pulled another knife from his pocket, and then he twirled it with his finger before he grasp it with his right hand.

"You Bastard!"

Hearing the yell of one of the bandits attacking beside him, Shinji acted accordingly to the thug's attacks.

Horizontal slash, duck. Stab abdomen with the knife in the left hand to create an opening needed for the next attack.

While the bandit is still in pain due to the initial stab, pull the knife, move behind him, close his eyes, then slice his throat.

One down.

Shinji turned towards one of the bandits who charged with his spear.

When the bandit thrust the spear, Shinji dodged it in a way that he also got close to the bandit, with the momentum from the dodge, he planted the knife to the bandit's throat and pull it out in a matter of a second.

Two down.

"Raaaaah!"

Looking behind him, he saw one bandit preparing a mean downward slash towards him with his sword.

But due to the fact that the poor bandit yelled before his attack, his fate was already sealed. As Shinji used his knives to stab the side of his body, and then slash his throat.

Three down.

Twelve left to go.

Naruto's eyes widened at the siblings show of skills, it's clear that they are used to fighting, or killing, at that. And the way that they do it shows that they are used to it.

Then he saw the siblings standing back-to-back as the rest of the bandits surround them.

"Damn it, you killed them didn't you? How many times do I have to tell you, you can wound them, but keep them alive!" Shizuka angrily reminded Shinji.

"I see it as an act of mercy, because I figured that if I let them live with crippling wound, they would've been killed or be abandoned by their higher-ups for becoming useless to them anyway, so why don't I just do that instead of leaving them at the mercy of people more sadistic than we are?" Shinji countered.

"...Dammit, Fine! As long as you understand the weight of responsibility for killing someone!" Shizuka said as she begin to fight with one of the bandits.

"No need to tell me that..." Shinji muttered as he resumes the fight.

And Naruto saw as one by one, the bandits were defeated, either incapacitated, or outright killed.

One of the bandits saw all of this, yet he didn't interfere due to him being afraid of the two monsters mowing them down as if they were nothing. Then, in an act of cowardice, or merely survival instinct gone haywire, he ran.

But unfortunately, he ran towards the blonde boy who decided that he needs to intervene.

"G-Get the hell out of my way!" The bandit yelled.

But Naruto's not having any of that, he extend his palm forward, as if asking the bandit to stop, and the bandit stopped on his track.

But he stopped not because Naruto told him to, he did that because Naruto extend his kinetic control that he has to the poor bandit.

The bandit was bewildered, but Naruto didn't stop there, he slowly lifts his hand, and as if following the motion of his hand, the bandit found himself floating.

"W-What are you doing to me? L-let, let me go!"

Naruto was silent for a few seconds before he answers, "Sure."

Then he bent his arm backwards as if he's going to punch someone with his fist, before he thrust it forward, making the bandit fly with such velocity that he ended up crashing into a house and rendering him incapacitated.

Suddenly, all the attention turned to him, and Naruto answered with "I... stopped that guy from fleeing?" He said awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck.

But the distraction was all that the rest of the remaining bandits needed to flee as the villagers watched as they run towards the hills, literally.

And then, it was all over. All that's left of the bandits was the ones that were killed, and the ones who were incapacitated.

Thankfully, the former was the lesser out of the two.

"Well... that was fun..." Shinji mulled the previous scuffle, "But still... what was that back there kid?" He asked Naruto.

"What?"

"Come now, don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about, you threw that guy for twenty feet straight, how powerful are you to do such a thing to a man almost twice your size?"

Naruto smiled sheepishly, it's quite lucky that almost none of them saw what he did to the bandit because they were focused on the siblings' fight "Just enough." He answered.

"...You're not telling me something are you?"

But before Naruto could answer it, they were interrupted by Shizuka, "Hey, take a look at this!"

Both of them walked closer and saw that Shizuka were inspecting one of the dead bandits, particularly the tattoo on the right side of his back.

It was a tattoo, shaped like a side-shot of a Horse's head, it's eyes were lit aflame, and it's mane seems to flow wildly.

"I think I recognized it from somewhere... and out of all of them he's the only one outfitted with this... Shinji, do you remember what this tattoo means?"

Shinji knelt down and looked towards the tattoo, a few seconds later, he chuckled mirthlessly, "Ara, Ara... now isn't this is interesting..."

"...What is it?" Naruto asked.

"It's the mark of **Sensou Yajuu** (War Beast), a legendary outlaw that seeks only battle... he was feared due to his action at the Third Shinobi World War, he defeated an army of Kumogakure no Sato's Shinobi in a battlefield on his own just because he wants to find someone powerful... The rumor was that he was defeated by the Yondaime Hokage who interfered with his massacre, he disappeared afterwards and never to be seen again, but I doubt this person is him... he was fairly easy to kill."

Then, they heard one of the wounded bandits chuckled "He... He was one of Yajuu's highest ranking man... and you killed him... Heh, he's not gonna be happy about this... that's for damn sure..."

Shinji walked over to the wounded man, and said "What do you know about the Beast?"

The bandit scoffed before saying; "Why should I tell you?"

Without warning, Shinji stabbed one of his combat knives to the ground, this in itself wouldn't make anyone afraid.

It was the place where he stabbed it, which was the patch of dirt extremely near the bandit's crotch.

But yet, he still kept the same smile, "Either you tell me, or I'll have to circumcise you the second time, and this time, I won't left any skin intact..."

The bandit whimpered, obviously terrified at the notion of having his 'privates' being skinned, so he said; "Uh... He, he's our leader! We call him Yajuu-san as he always ordered us to... and the guy you just killed was one of his trusted men... and he cares about us... so, this won't go unnoticed, he will seek those who harm his subordinates."

He was silent until Shinji lifted the knife right above the bandit's crotch, "Is that all?" He asked menacingly.

"T-That's all I know! Please! Please, let me go!"

Shinji let the knife hanged above the bandit's crotch before he said "Fine." Then, he stood up, "I'll let you go."

The bandit let out a sigh of relief as Shinji walks away from him.

When he went pass Naruto, the blonde young man couldn't help but say: "You're sadistic you know that?" He said with deadpan tone.

In response, he merely shrugged, "I have my moments... but now, we know that what we did something bad..."

"I heard, it seems that we attracted a monster if the War's Beast reputation is true." Shizuka agreed, "I have heard about the Beast among other bandits, he's like a being of legend to them... and if he's every bit as powerful as they say he is..."

Silence envelop the three of them as they contemplate the danger that they have brought.

"Then it's clear what needs to be done right?" Naruto said.

"...Are you thinking what I think you are thinking?" Shinji said while smirking.

In response, Naruto returned his sadistic smirk with his grin, "Let's go see this Beast, and defeat him in combat."

Shizuka sighed, "While that thought did cross my mind, I think we need to plan the whole thing out, find out his location, and _then _deal with him before he could do anything harmful."

"...Right." Naruto agreed, "But, I think that we already have our source regarding where this guy's location."

Shizuka raised her eyebrows in confusion "What do you mean? Who?"

"Well, we left some bandits to flee right? I'm willing to bet that they were this man's underling," He said as he points towards the tattooed man, "And in turn, this guy is the Beast's direct subordinate, and based by those hypothesis, I think that they're fleeing towards their base, if you follow their track, we should be able to find them."

Shinji grinned, "Astute observation Naruto... very well, can you take care of things here for a moment with nee-san? I think I got myself a base to find." He said as he ran towards the direction the bandits fled.

"Hey wait a-" Shizuka yelled, but Shinji had already left, "Damn him...!" she cursed out as she walked back to the gathered dead bandits.

"Is it okay to just leave him like that?"

"Yeah," Shizuka said dismissively as she sighed, "Just let him be, he's strong enough to take care any weak bandits if they don't gang up on him, and he's smart enough to know there's no way that he could take down a whole bandit camp on his own, especially if this legendary outlaw is the one who leads it. He'll be back at night after scouting the camp and its layout, don't worry about him Naruto."

Naruto was a bit worried, but if his sister trusts that he won't go too far, then he will too, "Alright," he relents, "What do we do with the dead bandits though?"

"What else? Bury them." She said nonchalantly, "And... if you don't want to help, that's okay." This time with a slightly worried tone.

That remark confused Naruto, "Why do you think I don't want to help?"

It was silent for a few seconds before She said "...Aren't you a bit... repulsed, seeing dead bodies?" She asked with worry.

Naruto looked towards the corpses of the bandits, true, it was a bit gruesome, the wounds that sealed their demise was still fresh even though the blood has dried, and their faces was still locked in their last expression, which added the points for the general creepiness.

But yet Naruto felt... nothing, not even a tiny lurch in his stomach that would lead him to vomit.

...Why is that?

But he chose to answer Shizuka first "To be honest, no... it's not like I've seen a dead human before, but it seems... redundant and pointless to feel repulsed by a corpse. ...However gruesome and smelly they might be."

Shizuka blinked, twice, before she responded "That's an... unusual way to look at it, but if that's how you feel, who am I to talk huh?" She said, a bit happy this time, "Anyway, if you're more than willing to help, I would like your assistance in burying these guys."

Naruto nodded "Sure." he responded with simplicity.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

The night has fallen as Naruto sat at the couch in the living room.

Silence fills the room as he didn't utter a single word, not even a humming noise to signal he's bored or anything else for he was deep in thought.

'Why didn't I feel repulsed by the sight of a dead person? A normal person my age would have expelled the contents of their stomach if they see something like that...' He thought as he rubbed the side of his head, but then he remembered, there was a memory from Yondaime's doppleganger that shows him killing another person in cold blood.

But he could also feel a distinct emotion from that memory... or a lack of one.

Deciding to find answer, he called one person who can give them, 'Ne, Kurama, can you hear me?' Naruto called Kurama through their mental link.

His reply was a bit late, but he got it after a few minutes; _**"Yes."**_

'...I think there's something that we need to talk about, I'm going inside okay?' Naruto said as he closed his eyes. Ignoring Kurama's rather late and awkwardly short reply.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

**"What's the matter?" **Kurama asked Naruto when he materialized in front of him.

Naruto hesitated for a few seconds before saying; "I think the merging between me and Yondaime's doppelganger are more than just sharing memories, it also change my behavior and personality as well, despite what you said."

Kurama raised his eyebrows... or his equivalent of eyebrows, his expression shows that he's interested to hear more, **"What makes you say that?"**

"...Today has been rather weird, no memories of him, but... what I felt was alien thoughts... things that passed my mind that seems rather strange coming from myself... Something that didn't feel right coming from myself."

Kurama looked at Naruto for a few seconds before he touched his head lightly with his huge finger, **"Close your eyes for a sec, let me see what's wrong."**

"Why do you need to touch my head for? We're already in my psyche right?"

**"True, but this the easiest and quickest way to see what's wrong, just close them already." **Kurama said with irritated tone.

Naruto does so, and it was a few minutes before Kurama told him to open them and said **"It's seems that you're right****, I can feel the man's essence within you, it has integrated nicely to your psyche so the subtle changes are to be expected... But you're quite observant to notice." **Kurama said before he stiffened, **"Although... now that I think about it, he was also astutely observant in his days...**** maybe the changes is far more rapid than we thought..." **He muttered out loud.

"...So... Wait, are you suggesting that the doppelganger's integration caused observant trait from the Yondaime seeps into my personality and enables me to see something wrong with my own personality that is caused by the integration of the same doppelganger with the same trait from the seal that caused the changes in the first place?"

**"...In essence yes, his integrated traits allows you to see that there is something wrong with you that is caused by itself."** He confirmed, **"...And you being able to deduce that might be because of it as well."**

Naruto groaned "This is all so confusing...! I mean, it's great and all that I'm improving a lot because of him, but I get these weird feelings because of him as well. I'm still Naruto, yet these things makes me feel as if I'm someone else. Someone different."

Naruto crouched as he covered his face with his palms and begins to regulate his breathing, "Okay, okay... it's going to be okay, I'm still myself, just... confused, that's all..." He assures himself "The integration of his personality is bound to have some side effects after all, one of them is the initial identity confusion. It's bound to happen. In time... it'll pass, and I'll still be Naruto, just not the Naruto I once was." He rationalized it with confidence and resolve.

Naruto stood up as his face shows that he had calmed down from his initial panic state, **"You alright now Kit?"**

"A bit, yeah." Naruto answered, "It's just that, I realized that these changes will happen, nothing I can do to prevent it, the best I can do is make the best of it as I possibly can."

Kurama smiled, **"Heh, you're a bit like him you know that? He could always reason things like this in a matter of seconds, and I can see that the integration merely adds to it. It's always inside you. All the things that he was, it's always inside of you. Maybe the recent turn of events merely push it to the surface, though it happens so quickly you didn't have time to cope with it just yet."**

Naruto smiled as well, "Yeah, maybe I just need a little more time, not everyone can cope with any changes as fast as this. But thanks for talking to me Kurama, really appreciate it."

**"It's never a problem." **Kurama answered, prompting Naruto to smile, and it was the widest smile that he had ever seen ever since both of them officially met.

"I'll be going now, but it would be nice to talk to you again sometime."

**"Hey, I'm always a thought away." **He joked a bit, making Naruto chuckle a bit, but before he left, Kurama gave a little tidbit; **"By the way kit, remember the other thing that you got from that scroll, the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?"**

"Yeah, Yeah I do, why?"

**"Next time you want to train your powers, let me tutor you about integrating Kage Bunshin into it, it will help, trust me."**

Naruto nodded after a few seconds, and said; "Alright, thanks." He said before he disappeared from his psyche.

...

**"You sure has a lot of ideas to make him stronger Kushina." **Kurama remarked as Kushina appeared beside him.

Kushina merely smiled, "Is that really surprising? He's my son after all, a mother had to look after their child, particularly teaching them how to become a man who can look for himself and everyone he held dear."

**"Heh, and having your husband's essence would help accelerate his maturity as well,"** Kurama remarked,** "Although... I can't help but think that this is some kind of messed up, he's your son, and yet he will, or already has, your husband's memories... and along with it, some, if not all of his traits... when did the boy Naruto cease to be and the new Naruto that was made from Minato's memories and personality begins?"**

The last question made both of them silent.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Opening his eyes, Naruto didn't expect to see a pair of brown-colored eyes draped with locks of long blonde hair looking directly and closely at him.

"Gah!" Caught by surprise, Naruto flinched and instinctively moved backwards, it was Shizuka who was looking at him with such close proximity, this time, she's not wearing her black coat and pants, she still wears her light blue shirt, along with black shorts that gratuitously shows her smooth thigh.

"Are you okay? I called you a few times but you didn't respond and your eyes were closed, were you sleeping?" Shizuka asked.

"Uh... Yeah, I was just taking a shut-eye for a second, nothing to worry about."

She looked at him quizzically before shrugging and said "Well, are you hungry?" To which Naruto nodded, "What do you want to eat? But mind you, I'm not as good as a cook as my brother, so don't expect anything fancy."

"Do you have any... Ramen?" Naruto asked quickly.

Shizuka smiled, "As a matter of fact, I do, it's only instant ramen cup, but I can get a little creative to make it a bit tastier, I'll make two for both of us, okay?" She said as she goes to the kitchen to prepare the meal.

Naruto mulled over what he had learned about the integration of Yondaime's personality, 'I think that the questioning self-identity is only going to be a problem in the initial phase, as time goes on, the change will be so seamless that I won't even question it, but besides some new traits, I won't be so indistinguishable from the man.'

He sighed as he rubbed his head, 'Possessing an unheard power in Ninja history... crisis of identity... can my life get _more _interesting...?'

Then, as if on cue, the sound of the back door being opened was heard.

Naruto stood up and goes towards the door to see who it could be, even though he already know it was Shinji.

But when he arrived at the door, he was welcomed by the sight of Shinji bleeding profusely from many cuts spread across his whole body, along with having a hard time to even breathe, his black shirt is wet due to him being covered by sweat, and he couldn't even stand up straight as he leaned on the nearby wall for support.

"Hey... Naruto..." Shinji said tiredly before he collapsed.

Luckily, Naruto prevented him from falling down completely as he managed to catch him using his power, but before he could notice, Naruto goes over to him and held him. "He-Hey, Shinji, Shinji! what the hell happened?"

But he wasn't responsive.

Clicking his tongue, Naruto lift him up, using his telekinesis ability to partially lift him up and brought him to the living room and put him on the couch.

Just in time, Shizuka came to the living room, on her hands are two ramen cups ready to be eaten, "Alright...! The ramen is ready to be ser-" She stopped when she saw the state her brother is in, putting the ramen cups on the desk near the couch, she immediately goes to her brother's side, "What happened?" She asked Naruto, trepidation filled every word that's spoken.

The blonde young man shook his head, "I don't know, I heard the back door being opened and goes to look, and I found him, he collapsed directly after he arrived."

Gritting her teeth in anger at seeing her brother in such a state, Naruto saw a glimpse of murderous glint in her eyes, and she clenched her fist so hard it turned white, but she calmed down considerably after Shinji woke up and placed his hand on top of her own.

"Calm down... Nee-chan... I'm fine..." He assures her through his ragged breathing.

"Thank Kami..." Shizuka said breathlessly, "What happened, Shinji?"

"Heh... I got caught while I was surveying the layout of the camp, even though I was quite far from the camp itself and perched on a tall tree for me to be seen..." he started, "But then, he showed himself... Sensou Yajuu..."

"What does he look like?" Naruto asked.

"Huge, abnormally so, and he easily towers the rest of them, I saw him overseeing the bandits that had escaped from us, from the looks of it, he let them go without any repercussion, but then he looked at my direction... and threw a spear, it missed me by a fraction, and pierced the tree instead, but it alerted the rest, I tried to escape, but was found quite a few times and had to fight multiple numbers of enemies... they made me exhausted, and that was why I got injured."

"He... saw you? And you're sure you weren't supposed to be?" Shizuka asked, knowing his brother's skill in stealth approach as something to be admired.

Shinji chuckled mirthlessly, and it was made all the more sinister with the dried blood on his lips, "Nope, I was in a position where no matter how hard you squint your eyes, it's impossible to see me... he's a monster that one..."

The tone makes Naruto stifle a chuckle threatening to come out of his mouth, Shinji's tone wasn't a tone of a defeated man, it was a tone of amusement, hell, even excitement, 'He wants to fight that monster, isn't he?' He thought.

_**"He is, he's an interesting man... Not to mention her sister, you know, her strength can be equaled to the Tsunade woman from your village... I wonder if they're related in some way..." **_Kurama said through their link.

'The similarities are present, but there's no way, Tsunade was never married to anyone, I suspect a couple of one night stands, but she must have prepared a countermeasure to prevent pregnancy, she's a medic ninja after all.'

_**"Oh? And how do you know these things? As I recall, you're always lazy at studying Shinobi History, not to mention you speak about her as if you know about her."**_

Naruto's eyes widened a fraction before he calmed down, 'Even though I was lazy, that doesn't mean that I didn't pay attention to some of the stuff they say, particularly about famous Shinobi from our own village... as for the familiar tone of speech that I used to comment on her though, I don't know where that came from, I'm guessing it's an impulse of some sort, from the doppelganger's essence, I mean.'

_ **"True... still, it looks like there's always a part of you that dominates Yondaime's own."**_

'Otherwise, I wouldn't be me right?' Naruto replied back.

Naruto felt a trickle of amusement and... relief, from the fox, prompting him to ask; 'What's going on?'

But he got no answer out of him.

As he looks toward the older of the Sakihara siblings treating her younger brother, Naruto asked if she could any help, to which she asked Naruto to get the first aid kit from the basement, which he did.

But all the while, his mind stayed at the thought of the War Beast, it must be due to the memory imprint of the Yondaime. It was rumored that he was the one who defeated him when both of them met, and if it were true, it's unlikely that the blonde Hokage would forget his enemies, even if the memories were from his body double.

It was made apparent that this Beast is quite powerful in a physical sense, capable of seeing to a great distance and the strength of a monster to be capable of doing what Shinji had witnessed.

And he could feel a weird premonition regarding him and the War Beast in the near future, even though he's not someone who believes in such things as bad feelings or deadly premonitions, he thought that; if it can, and will happen, and he has the power to stop whatever he's going to do...

'Then I'll do whatever's necessary to stop him.'

...

* * *

><p><strong>End of Chapter 1<strong>

* * *

><p>And so, it is done.<p>

Sorry for the delay, life's got in the way in the ugliest form imaginable, so I had to overcome it first.

Hope you like this chapter. Thank you for reading, and please, leave a review.


	3. Chapter 2: The Moniker

**DISCLAIMER:** I Don't own Naruto or its characters, Masashi Kishimoto does.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: The Moniker (Or lack thereof.)<br>**

* * *

><p>"Alright, what am I supposed to do here?" Naruto asked Kurama.<p>

It was very, very early in the morning when Naruto decided to abandon sleep, and instead, opting to go to train. He is currently standing in the middle of the large clearing that he already identified as his training ground to see what's the new training method Kurama has that involves the Jutsu that he got from the scroll.

"_**Create a clone first."**_

Naruto made a hand seal with his index fingers and middle fingers on his both hands being crossed, and with a poof of smoke, his clone manifested.

"Yo!" The clone said as he lifts his hand.

"Yeah, hey." Naruto said nonchalantly, 'Alright, done that, what now?' He mentally said.

"_**Now order your clone to go somewhere far away where you can't see him, and once he's there, order him to do something unpredictable."**_

Naruto was confused about his instruction, but he complied nonetheless, "Go somewhere out of sight, and then do something… weird, or whatever, just don't tell me what you're going to do and then dispel yourself."

The clone's expression shows that he is confused as well, but never the less, he did as he was told.

A couple of minutes passed, and as Naruto waited for his next instruction, he got hit by a wave of memory.

About his clone destroying a huge termite's nest using his fists.

'...I see.' Naruto thought, 'Everything that my clone did right before the point he's dismissed will be shared with me when he's dispelled.' He correctly deduced.

_**"Correct."**_ Kurama confirmed,_** "N**__**ow picture that, but replace the memories of him destroying the termite's nest, with the memories of him training his abilities."**_

Naruto's expression remain unchanged for a few seconds, before he slowly formed a grin, 'Months of required training compressed into mere hours or days... very handy.' He internally said, 'And not to mention if there are multiple of psychokinesis users of my level, who knows what we would accomplish.'

_**"The former is true, however the latter isn't quite right."**_

Naruto raised his eyebrows, 'How so?'

_**"Even though the clones are somewhat perfect copies of you, that doesn't mean that all of them is as powerful as you in a sense of being on the same level as you are in terms of power, remember, even though they are more real than a normal Bunshin, they are still a Bunshin, you can only use them for physical support and training,"**_ Kurama said, _**"Though that being said, **__**if you really want to tire yourself out, you can use two or more backups to provide more power support in combat situation."**_

Naruto scoffed, 'I got that, thanks, but this is me we're talking about, I don't even mind training to the brink of death as long as it means I can get stronger.' He confidently stated.

Inside of his mind, Naruto can hear Kurama chuckling, _**"**__**That's what I like to hear kit,"**_ He said, _**"Now, let's get to the next part of training shall we**__**?"**_

'Right, let's do this.' Naruto said.

_**"Now I want you to surprise me," **_Kurama ordered, which confused Naruto a little bit, but he elaborates, _**"Use your whole chakra and summon as many clones as you can."**_

Naruto immediately understood, 'How many are we talking about here?' The boy with the whiskers said with a grin.

_**"As I said kid, surprise me."**_

Naruto's grin widened, he made the hand seal and said "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." He said with a determined tone.

**"BOOM!**"

Instead of a little poofing sound it usually made when summoning a clone, it was akin to a small explosion this time, and the moment the huge smoke dissipated, there were hundreds of clones of Naruto.

And Naruto didn't even looked tired, but his breathing does get a little heavier.

'Well, how's that?' He asked Kurama.

_**"...Meh, could be better, but not disappointing either, either way, it hardly surprises me."**_

Naruto had somewhat expected that, but that didn't stop him from asking 'Well, who could do it better than me then?"

_**"Admittedly, not a lot." **_Kurama said, which somewhat boosted Naruto's ego, _**"But the list of those who can does include your idol, Yondaime Hokage."**_

In response to that, Naruto merely smiled, 'Him, huh?' He thought as he chuckled, "Haha... should've known."

_**"Right, there's always someone stronger kid, remember that."**_

"Hmph, I'll keep that in mind." Naruto said, 'So what do you need me to do with these... one hundred and... twenty clones?'

Naruto was met with silence for a few seconds before he got a reply, to which, Naruto's expression turned to confusion for a few moments, but then, he opened his eyes and decided to relay the order onto his clones, "Alright, hear me out!" He called to the clones. "All one hundred and twenty of you, make a set of lines, the formation is fifty-thirty-twenty five-fifteen!"

Within a minute, the line has assembled, "Fifty of you will be with me to train in normal levitation to quickly master the basics, the next thirty of you train in offensive capabilities, like the kinetic shockwave, but be creative, if you can thought of something else, try to see if it works." Naruto ordered, to which they nodded.

"The next forty is separated to groups of twenty five and fifteen, the twenty five will work on something called Hydrokinetic, find a large source of water nearby and try to 'move' the water with your mind instead of corporeal objects like rocks and such." Ignoring the confused looks, Naruto continued, "The next fifteen is the same, but, use your power to make the wind move instead."

"But how are we supposed to do that if you haven't done it yet?" One of the clones from the Aerokinetic group of fifteen clones asked.

"Look, Kurama told me that the basic principle is the same, focus your mind on something that you want to 'move', if it's water, focus on the water, if it's wind, try to focus on the surrounding air or try to push it forward like you would push a boulder, it's the same. It will be harder, but the principle is the same. Okay?" Naruto said.

All the other Narutos looked skeptical, but they nodded, at the very least they will do what their master said.

"Okay, we'll train until the sun rises, which is approximately... five hours from now, the team of water and wind control, find someplace else to train, but don't get too far away," The aforementioned team nodded and leaped to find a good spot to do what they're told.

"The offensive team, find someplace else to train as well, an open field is preferable." With that order, they too, went to find someplace else to train. "The rest of you, with me, let's focus and train to levitate ourselves, and from there... we'll learn how to fly." Naruto ordered with a grin.

And that grin was mirrored by his clones as they yelled **"Hell Yeah!". **

Naruto looked upon the fifty clones of himself closing their eyes and starts to levitate, smiling as he does so, and thought, 'This is going to be so damn exhausting, but the result will be worth it.'

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

_Six Hours Later..._

Shinji woke up as per his usual schedule of the day despite his physical injuries, due to his habit on managing the menial works in the house.

Wincing when he accidentally strained his wounds, he realized that he should be resting, but then again, he could still move if he's just careful, so he decided to press on.

On the way to the kitchen, he heard a muttered cursing, and the smell of something rather unpleasant.

And when he arrived, he saw his sister, trying to make some breakfast in his place. But he knows how bad she is at cooking so the smell must've been something that she failed to make.

Sighing to himself, he greeted her, "Nee-chan."

It caught her by surprise, as it made her jump, she turned around and said "S-Shinji, what are you doing up so early?"

"Force of habit." He simply answered, "What are you doing in the kitchen?"

"What else? I'm cooking."

Shinji sniffed and looked towards the cooking apparatus she's using, "Cooking what exactly? Half-rice half-soup thingy?" He said about the obviously failed attempt to make a porridge.

In response to the sarcastic comment, Shinji got a bump in the head courtesy of his sister, "Shut up, just be glad that I'm cooking for you."

Sighing again, he merely said, "Alright, alright. I'll eat your cooking."

...

After fifteen minutes of eating Shizuka's horrendous cooking without any complaints whatsoever despite him taking it all down to his stomach, Shinji helped his sister to clean the plates.

"By the way, where is Naruto? he's not going to do himself good sleeping all day long."

"Oh, he already woke up."

"Oh? Where is he then?" Shizuka asked.

"Outside." He nonchalantly replied.

Shizuka turned to Shinji, surprised by what he said, "What? When did he leave?"

"I think it was early in the morning, I woke up because of the sound of footsteps he made when he went to the door, I'm surprised you didn't know that."

Shizuka gritted her teeth, she's annoyed at how he seems to do things without any kind of supervisor, at the very least he could just tell them where he's going.

But before she could do anything about it, the door towards the living room was opened.

And along came Naruto, who is breathing rather raggedly, not unlike the way he arrived at their house after his first session of training.

"Hello... morning..." He muttered out as he slumped into one of the chairs.

Shizuka sighed, seeing him severely pushing himself to his limit makes her unable to get angry, but worried, "Where have you been?"

"...Training... exhausted... a drink... some food... would be swell..." Naruto said.

Shinji merely chuckled, "Alright, I'll go make something worthwhile to eat." He said before leaving to the kitchen, at least he doesn't have to eat Shizuka's cooking.

Shizuka goes to bring a glass for Naruto to drink water from, and after pouring the water, he gave it to Naruto who drank it all like he hadn't drank in months.

After he finished gulping the last drop, he sighed out of contentment, "Gaaah! That's the stuff."

Shizuka smiled faintly, "You're just like an old man who had drank a cup of Sake."

Naruto smiled, combined with his tired visage, it made him look cool, if just a tad. "I'll take that as a praise," He replied, "In case you're going to ask, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to train, I planned to go back precisely at five o' clock, but it took me longer to withstand the strain."

"...How much did you push yourself?"

Naruto's smile merely turned melancholic, "To the point where a normal man could die."

Shizuka's eyes widened, her lips quivered and she clenched her fist, she knows from his tone that he meant everything he just said, yet she could hold herself from punching the boy. But he seems to notice how she's holding herself back, so he said, "If you want to, do it." He said with a serious tone, "I deserve it anyway, and it would make you feel better about it."

She was silent, but then she said, "...No, I won't hit you, it won't make me feel better anyway, if anything it would make it worse." Then she proceeds to sit besides Naruto, and squeezed his shoulder, "But don't do anything like that again, especially without anyone to watch over you again, okay?" Even though she squeezed his shoulders quite hard, her tone of voice shows how worried she is.

"...Alright." Naruto reluctantly said, even though he _was _supervised by Kurama, he's not going to say that to her, not yet perhaps.

To put it bluntly, the idea of saying that a fox-shaped being made of Chakra watches over him at any given time is not something that he likes to say.

Then, Shinji came with a bowl of rice porridge with many varieties of toppings, such as sliced chicken meat and mushrooms. "Eat, you'll need it."

Naruto took the bowl and the spoon that Shinji also brought, "Itadakimasu." He said before eating.

Five minutes later, while he's in the middle of his meal, Shinji asked Naruto, "Out of curiosity, what did you do out there? you looked like you just passed a war zone."

Naruto stopped eating for a few seconds to reply"Training." Before resuming his previous activity of sending the food to his stomach.

"...Training?" Shinji incredulously asked, "What kind of training that pushed you that far?"

Shinji waits a few seconds as Naruto finished his meal, then he looked at Shinji with a mischievous smile on his face.

Naruto focused his eyes towards Shinji, and a mere second later...

He found himself floating.

"E-eh? Wait a... wha... h-how...?" Shinji muttered in bewilderment as his body twirls around as if something is holding him afloat.

Shizuka giggled, already knowing the extent of Naruto's power, then, Naruto answered, "This is what I've been training on, remember that bandit that I threw to a wall? This is how I did it." He explained as he put Shinji down and released his hold, "I couldn't sleep for some reason and I decided to train, it made me tired, but it sure as hell helped me getting stronger."

"How... how powerful are you?" Shinji asked, the previous euphoria of floating in the air without any visible support still dominating his mind.

"Just enough for now, for the future, perhaps more." He replied back. "Maybe when you guys are free, I'll show you something that I learned during my night out, would you like that?"

Shinji nodded, "Yeah sure, we, uh... we would like that." He replied as normally as he could. "But not tonight I think... we still got a lot of days ahead of us."

Naruto smiled before he stood up, "Alright, now, what should we do next?"

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

The first task that was given to him by Shinji was to bring a couple of crates that contained foods and stuff like those to several houses in the neighborhood.

That went pretty well, and by delivering the goods to the people in Shirohane, Naruto becomes rather familiar with the other people around.

After that's over, Naruto was ordered to clean the place, again, not that hard either, considering that he mostly used his powers to get the job done as quickly as he could.

And when it was somewhat late in the afternoon and the store was closed, Naruto went towards the nearest river from the settlement which is one and a quarter mile away.

He would've brought Shinji and Shizuka with him, but the former was kind of busy with his business, and the latter said that she had left to search for something, she didn't tell them what, but she was rather serious about it.

The hydrokinesis team had found the place when Naruto ordered them to train, it was a big river, yet it was somewhat shallow as it's depth can only reach right below Naruto's knee, and there are only several fishes swimming around, and most of them are small.

Naruto merely grinned before he crouched down to see the movement of the fishes who doesn't even recognize his presence.

He eyed a particular type of fish that caught his attention, a medium-sized catfish, he looked at it for a few seconds before extending his hand, as if wanting to catch it.

And as if following Naruto's command, the space of water around the catfish begins to separate itself from the stream.

The boy with the whisker marks lifts his hand, and the bubble of water controlled by him moved accordingly, and it brought along the catfish which is struggling to get out of the floating bubble.

He then motioned the bubble towards him, and stopped it right in front of his chest as his hands were on both sides of the bubble.

"This... is awesome." Naruto remarked.

The training from before had pushed him more than he ever thought possible, but the strain from taking the memories of one hundred and twenty clones that morning rendered him unconscious for nearly an hour, and even after he woke up, he experienced a massive headache, not unlike a massive hangover.

...And how does he, a young twelve year old boy, knows what a hangover feels like?

Blame that on Yondaime's wild memories.

And now is the first time he's using his achieved Hydrokinesis, and not to mention that twenty five clones working on Hydrokinesis for five hours can be equaled to one hundred and twenty five hours worth of training, so it can be said that he is getting the hang of it.

But still, the fact that the clones were rather... intuitive, assertive and not to mention creative in using the power was rather unexpected for Naruto.

'Kurama... is now the good time to ask about that?' Naruto asked.

He had asked Kurama about the self-reliance ability of the clones, but he said that he doesn't want to add even more pain to his head.

**_"Yeah, now is a good time as any." _**Kurama answered, _**"The Shadow Clones are more powerful and self-reliant due to the amount of Chakra being used to fuel it, on a rare case, the clone might disobey the order given, but it is not immune from being dispelled."**_For a moment, there was a pause, _**"But in your case, it might have to do with the changed Chakra circulation that you possess."**_

'...Changed? I bet it has something to do with that Crystal...'

**_"Correct, in addition of giving you the ability to manipulate things with just your mind, the Crystal also changed the way Chakra circulates your body. Before this, your body contained several chakra coils connected with several branches mimicking the way of how blood is circulated, but now... well let's just say that in that aspect, you are more like me than a human."  
><em>**

'...As a mass of ever moving energy contained in a vessel? That's how my Chakra is being circulated now?' Naruto asked.

_**"More or less, the energy within you is not contained within any circulation system of any kind, but it flows freely within your body and it can be extended beyond your physical range, hence, the psychokinesis ability."**_

It took Naruto several seconds before a grin was plastered on his face, a rather... devilish grin, some would say, "...Interesting..."

_**"It might be more interesting for you to know that that is how the energy was contained within the Crystal, the moment you touched it, it changed you due to physical interaction that caused its energy to be transferred into you, and in turn, making you capable of doing these things." **_Kurama added, _**"But as to how it would change the way your clones behave, it maybe possible that the energy also gave them the ability to become more creative in doing things, but it's more likely that it's because of your change in personality."**_

Now that caught Naruto's attention, 'Why do you say that?'

_**"The clones copied the original's personality as well as his mindset, remember? And combined with your outside the box way of thinking, your increased intelligence, and your drive to be better, it's no wonder they're rather creative in their training."**_

Naruto hummed in contemplation, "Hm... makes sense... but... why do I have a feeling that you already knew that? You did didn't you?"

He could literally _feel _the fox grinning, _**"Well... I'll let you decide on that..." **_He cryptically replied with an amused tone, _**"And did you master flight yet?"**_

Naruto merely scoffed and returned the bubble to the river. Then, he puts his hands on the pockets of his jeans and without even a gesture or concentrating too hard, he floated off the ground, and the radius of his energy that lets him float also made several pebbles and dusts from the ground he was standing on goes with him.

"The lift-off is a piece of cake now, the flight itself will took some more training to get fast enough for quick transportation method, but I'm getting there." Naruto said.

_**"Thanks to your 'there's no tomorrow' method of training of course, but seriously, you got to have to relax a little, your body can only take so much strain."**_

Naruto smiled sheepishly and said "Yeah... maybe, that memory feedback from the clones was... excruciating." He said as he rubbed his forehead, the remnant of the pain still lingers in his head.

If he wants to do that again, he has to do it one by one, the accumulation of experience from his clones would be too much for him to bear if he dispelled them all at once.

Still using his power to suspend himself, he tilted his head upward as he pushed himself further upwards, and when he got higher than the surrounding trees, he took his time to appreciate his surroundings.

"...Seeing things from different perspective really brings out its other beauty..." He said blissfully as he looked towards the green field made of tall trees that surrounds the river.

He turned his body around in mid-air and propelled himself eastward.

The velocity of his flight is rather slow, the maximum velocity is perhaps no more than 10 miles per hour, something that he has to rectify by more training.

But for now at least... he would rather enjoy with what he have.

And perhaps... try to get himself over his current limit in the process...

Grinning at the thought of pushing himself forward, he increased the velocity of his speed as he turned upwards.

The feel of the wind brought another feeling of pure euphoria within his very soul, an unmatched euphoria that no normal man could ever feel, the feeling of being truly free and unbound by the force of gravity, the happiness and the thrill of experiencing something that no one else could ever feel.

The feeling of flying without wings.

He let himself smile as he closed his eyes and let the feeling coursed through his body.

'Heh, I don't think even birds could feel this much freedom...' The whiskered blonde boy thought.

Feeling that he got high enough, he stopped and looked at his surroundings again, but this time, he looked beneath him.

He could see everything, the settlement like a miniature in a diorama, it's so small, and it's as if he could reach and grasp it with his hand, the forest that surrounds it is nothing more than a green-colored field from his perspective, and the river is nothing more than a small trails of water from where he's seeing it..

'...This power's not bad... not bad at all...' Naruto thought before taking off again into the peak of the sky.

In the process, he goes faster and faster, determined to overcome his current limits.

7 Miles per hour.

9 Miles per hour.

10 Miles per hour.

Naruto grinned, 'Heh, why don't we go faster eh, Kurama?"

In response, the giant fox merely grinned in excitement, something that could be felt by Naruto due to their bond,_** "Go ahead Kit, there's nothing without risk..."**_

"..That isn't worth doing." Naruto completed the sentence and grinned as well.

11 Miles per hour.

13 Miles per hour.

16 Miles per hour.

Naruto's beastly grin widened as he goes faster and faster, and then, he said... "Let's go! to the Sky!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs as he keeps on flying to reach the top of the sky.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Coming home to her house, Shizuka was greeted with the sight of Shinji looking up to the sky as if he's a child who is fixating his vision on something that is flying in the sky.

She walked towards him and said"What are you doing staring at the sky like that?"

Shinji turned to his sister for a moment before turning his gaze towards the sky, "Naruto told me to."

...Then he went silent, as if what he said before made sense, "...Would you elaborate on that?" Shizuka inquired

Shizuka's brother merely shrugged and said, "I asked Naruto when he will be coming home, and he told me that it would be somewhat late in the afternoon, perhaps at thirty minutes past six, but he also told me to watch for the skies." He explained, "Normally, I would have asked him why, but I like to be surprised, particularly from him."

Shizuka shook her head, it is quite late in the afternoon, 6:27 P.M., which is close to Naruto's appointed time, and seeing his power firsthand, it's natural and not unexpected that Shinji would be curious as to why he would said that.

Then, the unquestioned thing within her head was answered as the sound of the whistling wind caught her attention.

She looked up and saw a figure, unlike a bird, or something else that can soar in the sky, whether of natural or mythological origin coming down towards them.

But before it got awfully close to both of them, it slowed down.

And when they can see what it was, it turns out to be the figure of none other than Uzumaki Naruto, who is descending towards the ground in a slower, more composed fashion than before.

His face is plastered with a smile so bright it could be compared to a sun, a smile that can only come from an experience like nothing else. At least, nothing ordinary that anyone could do.

As he touched the ground, he turned to Shinji and said, "That's why." without losing his smile.

Then he left the two person who are speechless by the show of ability from the blonde-haired boy and goes inside the house with a satisfied smile plastered on his face.

Shinji, the ever cool guy that he is, is the first one to break out of his reverie when the boy with the whisker marks entered the house, he said; "...And that's why I like the kid, the kinds of surprises that he can come up with? It's insane, I tell you that."

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

_The Next Day... 1:35 A.M_

Naruto is perplexed.

After explaining how he can now fly with ease along with how he is more adept at using his power and then helping the Sakihara siblings with their house chores yesterday, Naruto had gone to sleep at ten o'clock.

It was all good and normal, but then, he woke up at 00:00 A.M in the dead of night without any headache or tiredness that should accompany waking up after sleeping for only two hours.

In fact, it felt rather normal, it's as if he had been sleeping peacefully for ten hours straight.

After twenty minutes of trying to get himself to sleep and failed, he decided to come down to the living room and eat something, he was quite hungry.

Preparing the instant ramen and finishing the meal along with the cold milk that he took from the fridge took him thirty minutes as he was not gulping the food and the drink like a rabid animal.

Ten minutes of waiting to get sleepy proved to be fruitless as he doesn't get sleepy at all.

The next twenty-five minutes was spent on jogging around the village, and subsequently, the forest nearby, as he tried to get himself as tired as possible to sleep.

But it didn't work, so he did the next best thing, he ran to the nearby river and summoned thirty clones, then he ordered them to train, ten in Aerokinesis that he's still somewhat struggling to get a hold of, ten in Hydrokinesis to make his mastery of the water manipulation more perfect, and the next ten is separated into five pair of twos, with one of the pair attack the other with the offensive capabilities of the power and the other use the defensive capabilities to protect themselves from the attacks.

It has been gone for ten minutes, but all the while, as he uses his small control of the wind to make a single leaf afloat -a technique that his previous clones used-, he kept thinking about why he's not sleepy and tired after just two hours of sleeping.

'It could be the sign that I'm getting old, but that is unlikely since I'm just twelve...' Naruto speculated, 'The more likely possibility however, is that with the Crystal changing how my body works, it also changes the hours of sleep that my body needs, I'm not that prone to fatigue as much as when I'm a normal human, and I recuperate rather quickly without any external aid whatsoever... perhaps it changed the way my body rests, shorten the time needed for me to sleep because of the swirling energy within...'

He turned his attention to one of the clones who is having some trouble controlling the wind with the method of lifting leaves with the wind.

Then, one of the clone said to the one having some trouble, "Hey, you're not doing it right, you're supposed to move the wind beneath the leaf and then maintain it's movement so that it stays afloat, it's the basic technique."

The clone turned to the one who advised him, but instead of doing what he was told, he replied, "That's precisely what I'm not doing, I'm trying something else."

Now this caught the real Naruto's attention, he turned towards the clone and asked, "Tell me, what exactly are you doing?"

The clone seems to hesitate for a second but then he said, "Well... I figured that making the leaf stays afloat using the wind is rather... basic, so what I'm trying to do is to slash it to shreds using the force of the wind."

"Hm... that explained why you're using too much force than needed to make it floats." The real Naruto said, "But that doesn't explain why you just get to the point and try to shred it."

The clone grinned, "See, I don't just aim to shred it with force, I'm trying to be as efficient as I can, I'm aiming to command enough gale force to rip it to pieces in one go, but so far, it's not working..."

Naruto thought about what his clone's trying to do, it seems that the method the clone was trying to use is somewhat more feasible, so he tried it as well.

But he couldn't summon enough force from the wind to tear the leaf apart, let alone shred it to bits.

Sighing to himself, he summoned another ten clones and said, "Do whatever that one told you to, no questions, alright?" He said as he points towards the clone who pursued another method to train.

"W-wait a minute boss, are you sure?" the said clone asked.

In turn, Naruto shrugged, "You're the one who came up with it, you teach them. And after you taught them the method, return to what the other nine were doing, no excuses." He simply replied.

The clone, having no rebuttals to what the boss said, sighed and turned towards the ten new clones.

Naruto, still doesn't want to let the full training be handled just by his clones, turned towards the leaf and concentrating on how to shred the leaf.

But still, he does so without abandoning the next thing that comes from his previous thought, if his body had been changed by the Crystal, when will the change stop?

Kurama heard his thoughts, and said; _**"Don't let yourself think about that too much, I'll look into it a bit more, so just stop having these depressing thoughts, it's not just affecting you, it gets to me as well, and it's not that pleasant."**_

Naruto sighed, 'Right, right... burdening myself with thinking that all the time is not good either, I'll wait till' you find something, in the mean time... I'm going to train, seeing that I can't sleep.' He relayed to Kurama.

He heard a sigh of resignation from Kurama, _**"Always pushing yourself... some advice here Kit, try to rest and enjoy something else for once, tranquility isn't as bad as you may think." **_The giant fox replied back before he receded into the back of Naruto's psyche, no doubt already investigating what Naruto's worrying about.

A small breath escape his lips as he continues onward with his training.

He had to admit... some tranquility might do him good...

...The question is... will his mind let him?

...

Well, as Kurama said, it's better to not think about things outside his control too much.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Naruto walked back to Shirohane after four hours of training. In the end, he dismissed them all ten by ten, as ten clones at once is the limit of the mental strain that he could take without passing out.

Though that doesn't diminish the need for an aspirin afterwards.

But, he could take it, it's just a mere annoyance that will disappear in time.

Nothing can be gained without some kind of consequence after all.

He rubbed his head to at least neutralize the pain, even if it's just for a little bit as he walks towards the small settlement of Shirohane.

Arriving at Vigilance looking no worse for wear, he stepped inside just in time as Shinji is preparing another breakfast for them.

Even though it is obvious from how he entered the store from the front door that he escaped his bed at night again, Shinji merely smirked as he said, "Relax, Shizu-nee's asleep."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief, as much as he likes the blonde-haired woman, he really doesn't want to be pandered again, "Lucky." Naruto said.

The process of eating the served breakfast was quick due to it's simplicity, precisely one hour later, Shizuka woke up and began to eat the rice and miso soup.

After finishing the meal, he turned to Shinji and said, "Shinji, I want you to come with me for the next raid."

Raising his eyebrows, the younger sibling returned her order from before by saying"That's weird, you never asked for my help before, why the sudden change?"

She took a huge gulp of water from her glass before saying, "Yesterday, I found another one of War Beast's camp."

His attention was caught, he leaned over and asked, "Where did you find it? How did you know it was his?"

"Northeast, seven and a half miles from here, and it was marked with his emblem, it was rather obvious." She answered.

"How about the outpost that I saw before? The one with the War Beast?" Shinji asked.

"It was abandoned." Shizuka answered curtly, "I went there first to check, and I found out that they had already left, along with their loots, and when I backtracked, I saw some trails that led me to this camp."

Naruto could see a bit of dissapointment in Shinji's expression, but then he continues; "Well, alright... its fortification?"

"A small outpost, containing perhaps no more than 40 bandits, I heard some of them said that they just looted some trade caravans heading to Konoha." The word made Naruto's ear twitched. But neither siblings noticed it, "...Along with some prisoners... some of them are young females..."

Shinji's expression turned from its usual careless expression to one filled with anger, he icily said "When?"

"Two o'clock in the afternoon at best, go ahead if you want to prepare yourself Shinji." Shizuka said.

To response, Shinji immediately left, presumably to prepare himself for the raid.

Seeing the conversation firsthand however, Naruto asked Shizuka, "What was that all about?" Prompting her to turn her head to him, "I know that it's the War Beast's camp so you want to take precautions but... I'm assuming that he have some grudges that needs to be taken care of."

Shizuka sighed after a second of pause, then she said, "He's a chivalrous person, he hates the idea of someone taking away someone else's belongings without their consent... and more than that, he loathes someone that take, or in other words, kidnap a person against their own will, one of the main reasons he hates bandits." She explained, "Due to the fact that most bandits live by leeching other people's hard work, whether it's stealing someone else's treasure or forcing someone to be their things for them to use."

Naruto frowned, "Never like those kinds of stuff either, I guess I can see where he's coming from." He remarked, "And not wanting to make you angry or anything but, would you mind if I tag along?"

She raised her eyebrows and asked him, "Why would you want to come?"

The boy with the whisker marks shrugged, "Just thought that it would be interesting, what? I can't?"

Shizuka sighed, "No, you can't, not that we're afraid of you getting hurt, but somebody got to stay here and maintain the store while we're gone, and that only leaves you. So, you'll be staying."

Naruto shrugged, "Well, can't win everything I guess..." He said in mock despondency, and Shizuka can tell that he's not that bummed out from not being included.

How right she was, as Naruto didn't mind having to stay or to come with them to the raid, he just wants to alleviate his boredom, and either way, he could do something interesting, raiding a bandit camp or not.

Unclothing himself from the black shirt that hasn't been changed for two days straight, Naruto goes over to the bathroom to take a bath, but not before he said "I'm going to take a bath okay? Been training for too much that the smell of sweat starts coming out of the shirt."

And due to the fact that he said it without looking at the blonde-haired older woman, he didn't see the look he got from her, as despite being a twelve year old, his body looked so... lithe, his rather well-built physique that looks like an avid, professional swimmer easily snared her eyes and prompted her to stare at the young boy rather... hungrily, like a lioness that saw an enticing prey in the savannah and wanted nothing more to pounce and devour it.

Shaking her head furiously to get her mind out of the gutter, she said to Naruto, "Yeah... sure, g-go ahead, Naruto."

Though she tried to be calm and cool when she said that, that old familiar feeling that comes from seeing such... favorable subject made her stutter a little, which she silently cursed herself for.

Luckily, Naruto didn't notice as he merely nodded and goes to the bathroom, leaving the woman sighing at her own unwanted desire that had spruced up due to the young boy living on the same roof with her.

Reminded of the times when Shinji used to call her a shotacon due to her admitting that he likes men who are younger than her, she lightly punched her head to get her mind straightened out.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

It was somewhat late in the afternoon when Naruto was left all alone to stay in the store.

Shinji and Shizuka had left much earlier to go to the War Beast's camp, hell-bent on rescuing the prisoners the bandits have taken.

When they left, Naruto had taken care of everything for the day, it was somewhat tiring, but there's nothing that can beat having ten clones sharing the workload with you.

After making sure that he had done everything, Naruto closed the shop rather late than its usual time, just to be absolutely certain that no one else is going to come inside to do some transaction anymore.

Currently, he is lying back on the roof of the store\house, wearing a simple short-sleeved blue shirt with a white-colored star symbol on the chest and black jeans while he lazily looks into the sky, not unlike the usual attitude of a certain friend of his, finding that lying down on the sofa inside the house and staring at the ceiling is jarringly boring.

He sighed rather contently while seeing the stars, 'Look at that... it's an untouched frontier, bereft of human interference whatsoever...' He mulled, 'What could possibly be up there I wonder? Such limitless potential...'

Without any warning whatsoever, a certain Bijuu interfered, _**"You know kit, more and more you think like the Yondaime, despite having no flashes of memories, don't you feel strange at the difference between the present you and you from before?"**_

"...Did I really think like him?" Naruto asked.

_**"He once wondered what lies beyond the stars as well, going so far as to design a device that would have enabled him to see beyond the atmosphere of the earth that we live in, a design that was never materialized due to his death."**_

"Which you provided by the way," Naruto said to Kurama, reminding the fox that he was responsible for the man's death.

But then he chuckled, "Should've known a man like him would think beyond what he could actually reach..."

After he said that, Naruto immediately had an epiphany, what if the blueprint of the device is contained in his memories inside of him? Perhaps he could continue his work, but how to... "Hm... that might work..."

_**"Kit," **_Kurama began, already aware what he's going to do, _**"I'm not trying to dissuade you from doing it, but it could accelerate the amalgamation process a lot quicker and altering you even further."**_

"Then why not push the schedule ahead?" Naruto humorously said as he closed his eyes and focusing on the thought of the visions of Yondaime's memories and forcing the Yondaime's memories to the surface in the process.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Swimming in the deep ocean that is filled with memories instead of water is a... funny little experience.

Due to him deliberately choosing to do so enables a somewhat lucid dream state where he views most of the relevant memories that the Yondaime had in his life.

After navigating through the memories, he found out that if he want to get the blueprint, he had to start from the beginning.

'Makes sense I guess...' He shrugged and began with the memory of the famed Shinobi training on the beginning of his career as a genin with his team, he was incapable of seeing who the two friends are, perhaps due to the Yondaime didn't particularly remember his genin teammates.

But he did fondly remember about the man who taught him, his sensei was a man with white-colored long hair, the man looked kind enough, and Naruto deciphered his name from how Yondaime called him Jiraiya-sensei.

And he also learned the name of the Yondaime, which is Minato, Namikaze Minato, to be exact, Naruto doesn't know how he could miss his name, even after all those times Iruka taught him and the other children. Perhaps it was due to his inability, or lack of will to listen to the lectures.

Well... not perhaps, it was apparent that Naruto is not someone that likes to listen to a subject, unless it's easy to understand, doesn't take long, and... involving him learning awesome jutsus.

Banishing the thought away, the memories shifted again, this time, Minato and his team were having a gathering with the other teams.

And there was something that caught Minato's eyes, the color of crimson from the long, flowing hair of a girl with dark violet eyes whose expression shows her serious demeanor.

Naruto immediately knows that Minato is rather interested with the redhead, which he doesn't find as surprising. If Naruto had to judge, he will say that the girl looked rather pretty.

She noticed his stare, and looked back to him. In response, he smiled as he raised his hand and waved.

Which was promptly returned by the crimson haired girl, though she didn't do anything further like starting a conversation with him or something similar.

And Naruto noticed how somewhat bummed Minato was feeling at that moment.

The memories shift again, showing Minato in front of an enemy Shinobi while threatening the said Shinobi with a Kunai.

He remembered this, one of the vague memory from his first time seeing the Yondaime's memories while he was sleeping, but this time, it's somewhat clearer, he remembered, or knows, that Minato and his team were in a mission to capture and interrogate an enemy shinobi from Iwagakure about the whereabouts of the Konoha shinobi that they have imprisoned.

The man in front of him, -or to be more exact, in front of Minato-, was captured by him and severely interrogated by Minato to the point that he is on the brink of death.

After disclosing the location of the prison, Minato killed him, not in cold blood, but to make sure that he's not found by his allies and told them that he revealed the sensitive location of the prison.

He rationalized that the poor fellow would be killed either way, and it doesn't matter if he's the one that killed him anyway, they're enemies, it was expected that if you were found by an enemy, it's either you or him.

So he planted his kunai on the enemy's throat as he covered his mouth to prevent him from screaming, watching his eyes as it goes from terror, to blank empty brown eyes in a matter of second.

The blonde young man closed the dead person's eyes and felt the something trying to come out of his stomach through his mouth, but it's not Naruto who felt the sickness, it was Minato's...

...As he just watched the first kill that Minato Namikaze did in his life.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Opening his eyes, Naruto grimaced at the last memory that pushed him away from the memories.

'The last one was... unpleasant...' Naruto remarked with a deadpan tone.

_**"What did you see, kit?" **_Kurama asked as he's unable to see what Naruto sees during his... 'memory walk'.

"His team, his sensei, his first crush, as it looked like, and his first kill." Naruto listed off, when he mentioned the third, he felt a twinge of surprise coming from inside him.

...Finding it rather disturbing that he would have alien feelings or thoughts other than Kurama's, he decided to file it for later.

Kurama didn't notice his subtle thought however, and so he said, _**"That explained your revulsion, was it gruesome?"**_

"Not really, doesn't change the fact that it was my first time seeing someone's life being taken right in front of me though, his eyes turned blank and all... Wasn't really prepared for that..." Naruto answered.

Naruto heard Kurama sighing from his mind, _**"But despite all that, you didn't regret doing that, do you****?"**_

Raising his eyebrows in slight surprise, he said "How do you know that?"

_**"I'm in your head kit, I can feel your lack of regret. And in fact, you're curiosity got even bigger than before, it's like you want to do that again."**_

Naruto lightly groaned, "Sure..." He answered as he rubbed his forehead to quell some of the pain, "...But not now, it makes my head rather painful, so consecutive viewings is not an option..."

But then, he heard something, an unnatural noise, like faint whispers of a group of people nearby.

He lifted his upper body up and positioned himself in a sitting position.

The first thing that he saw was the flicker of the faint lights coming from the terrace of the villager's houses.

But then there are movements that caught his eyes, movements that came from group of two people that is moving rather peculiarly near one of the houses, in their hands, they carried some kind of a stick, but it was quite dark for Naruto to see.

His eyes widened when he saw that there are multiple people that has placed themselves on the villagers' houses.

But due to the darkness, they didn't see him perched on the rooftop of the all-purpose shop.

'What the hell are they up to?' Naruto wondered.

He was answered when one of them gave a signal to the rest of them, and simultaneously, they lighted the stick that turned out to be a torch.

And then they start burning down the houses with the torch that they have made.

'...Fuck...' swore Naruto. And with that, he could also feel a feeling of disappointment and anger that comes from within, and yet not from Kurama...

Deciding to let go of the thought for the moment, Naruto saw the bandits began to run when they finished lighting most of the buildings in the small settlement.

"Like hell you're going to leave...!" Naruto said as he grits his teeth.

He extend his hand forward, and the bandits found themselves floating due to Naruto's psychokinetic power.

Then he closed his previously opened palm and the bandits reacted to it by being pulled into a single point with so much force that you can hear some of their spines cracked due to the amount of force being put.

As they were still recoiling from the impact, Naruto flew down faster than his usual speed due to his anger fueled his adrenaline to it's maximum amount and forces him to go faster, and to which, he complied.

Looking at the houses that are starting to catch on fire and hearing some of them started screaming, Naruto decided to let the bandits in their incapacitated state for the moment and save the people first.

But he decided to give all of the bandits a punch in the head first, in the form of kinetic force equal to a half a pound rock being thrown at 25 to 40 miles per hour.

'That should keep them unconscious for longer...' Naruto wryly thought.

Flying with the fastest velocity that he could achieve, he rescued the people trapped inside using his psychokinetic powers while forcing himself to his limit to make the rescue process a lot faster.

Gladly, the rescuing people part wasn't that hard, it only took him one minute and forty-eight seconds to rescue everyone and putting them quite far away from the settlement.

When he was done, Naruto looked at the people he just rescued, due to his speed, their mind didn't yet compute the fact that they have just been rescued.

One of the many people that he just rescued was a family, consisting of a man and a woman, along with their 5-year old daughter and their baby who is still being carried by his mother due to his age which is six months old.

Then the family and the others that he has rescued looked towards him, most of them in awe as they quickly, and correctly, deduced that he was the one that saved him, in some way or form, and the rest of them was confused as to how they managed to get from their burning house to the field.

Naruto looked back towards the burning houses, and he decided that with his power, he could do something to prevent them from losing their homes and their belongings.

He turned towards them, particularly at the girl from the family that he just saw, who is looking at him rather expectantly, as if she wants him to help them.

Deciding to do just that, he said "All of you, stay here, alright? I'm going to put out the fires first."

"How are you going to do that, Onii-san?" Asked the little girl with the pigtails from the family that he saw.

Deciding to put up a front to comfort the little girl and the settlers that had also turned to him due to what the girl said, Naruto replied with an assuring smile, "Just trust me, and watch..."

Naruto raised his head upwards before he flew, surprising the settlers and headed towards the river that he had found before.

Arriving at his destination, Naruto pulled every last bit of his power to 'pull' the flowing water in a large amount and converge all of them into a large floating reservoir of water.

Gripping the water tightly using his vastly improved telekinesis ability, he brought the large amount of water back to the settlement. Just in time before all of the buildings can be reduced to ashes.

Closing his eyes for a moment to concentrate, he moved his hand, and the water followed, as if it was commanded to, Naruto made it hit every buildings on fire, and in turn, putting the fires out in the process and saving the settlers' properties as well.

After it was done, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and threw the previously massive amount of water to the nearby forest, he was relieved because in that narrow window, he managed to save most of the settlement and its people from being burned to the ground and captured the arsonists who did those as well.

...Speaking of which...

Naruto turned his head towards the bandit arsonists who are starting to retain their consciousness.

But as they're groaning, Naruto flew down and when he landed, he starts to walk menacingly towards them, his eyes filled with such killing intent that it made his visage rather terrifying.

Most of the bandits didn't notice this however, but one of them did...

...As Naruto extends his right hand towards him and activated his psychokinesis ability to lift the poor bandit up in the air, using his neck as the point where he 'grabbed' him.

The bandit tried to breathe, which Naruto gave by loosening his grip a little, but then he pulled him closer and said "Who ordered you to do this?" With a tone that sent chills down the bandit's spine.

Despite knowing that it was only a young man who is interrogating him, the bandit dare not to answer incorrectly. "I-It was our leader...!"

When Naruto received nothing more from the bandit, he continues, "Well, what's his name then?" He said as he tightened the clutch he had put on the bandit's neck.

"I-Inoki! Genma Inoki! there was someone... spying on our outpost yesterday... a woman with blonde hair... when she left, he ordered some scouts to follow her, they were unnoticed... and when he figured out where she is... he ordered us to burn the place to the ground with her in it... to prevent her... telling the others about our... location..." He choked out.

Enraged at what he heard, Naruto asked, "The people here have nothing to do with this, why would he want to do that?"

"He... He's mad...! I-I don't... want to do this either... But he... he threatened to kill me... if I don't... what am I supposed... to do...?"

Naruto gritted his teeth, he doesn't blame the bandit for fearing his insane superior's wrath, but even so...

...This man has to be punished.

He released the grip he has on the bandit, leaving him on the ground while he catches his breath.

Naruto clenched his fist hard enough that it turned white, this man... Genma Inoki, is a madman with no regards for others' lives in favor for his own safety and amusement.

Then he remembered... 'The blonde woman that they saw... Could it be...!'

He gathered the bandit in one spot with his psychokinesis power, turning his head towards Vigilance, he remembered that there was a large rope from the storage room.

Flying using his power, he flew at an incredible speed towards the all-purpose store and returned with the rope in hand, then he uses his power on the rope to bind the bandits, rendering them immobile.

"Is this all of you?" He asked the bandit that he had interrogated earlier, he nodded, rather afraid of Naruto after seeing what he could do. "Good."

Turning his head to where he put the townsfolk, he can see them coming towards their settlement, perhaps it was due to them seeing what he had done to save their houses.

It's not a sight that you can see everyday after all.

He looked at the bandits one last time before saying "I'm not known as a ruthless man, so I gave you my mercy. But good luck getting _theirs_, boys." He said as he pointed towards the oncoming villagers.

And with that, he flew off to the direction that Shinji and Shizuka had gone to, with the intention to help them.

Not that that he doesn't trust them getting the job done by themselves, they are pretty strong in their own rights and can neutralize the bandits with their skill.

But he wants his share of satisfaction.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Outside the large bandit outpost, the Sakihara siblings were watching the interior of the small fortress from the top of a tree.

"You said that it was small." Shinj said to his sister regarding the size of the outpost that can't be said as small, as the size of the layout could rival the size of a small fortress.

"Well to me it was small," She replied back, "Don't you start complaining, I once brought down a whole castle to its knees, remember?"

"To be fair, it was because the Daimyo ordered his subordinate to not use lethal forces because you were just being informal to him and the guards decided to take you on. And, defeating a whole army doesn't count as bringing down a whole castle, it just shows that you're strong, but not that strong to really take down a castle by yourself."

She pouted a little, but he does have a point, she was just exaggerating how she defeated most of the Fire Daimyo's guards when she was called there to meet him, due to her notoriety as the... 'Pulverizer of Bandits' and to receive her exceptional bounty from an infamous bandit known as the 'Red-haired Bastard'.

She had addressed the Daimyo rather informally, angered one of the guards and prompted him to attack her, despite his subsequent loss due to a mighty punch to his abdomen, the other guards were riled up, which was foolish, considering that the Daimyo didn't seem to mind her informality, and that he never ordered for them to attack her.

But he did find her battle with his guards rather... entertaining, amusing, even. So he sat back and enjoy the show.

In the end, after more than fifty minutes, ninety-eight incapacitated soldiers, twenty-two other soldiers who are scared out of their wits, and a Terminator of a woman standing amidst their fallen comrades with her expression is adorned with a grin that could scare the life out of Shinigami himself, the Daimyo ordered his guards to stand down and for her to stop the onslaught.

Granted, she did exaggerate the fact, but it was just for a little bit.

"Alright, it looks like there are approximately 50 bandits inside, the prisoners are presumably being caged in the dungeon, but the leader isn't out in the open... probably he's somewhere inside this thing..."

"Then we'll..."

Whatever Shizuka's about to say were cut short when there was the distinctive sound of a howling wind that they could identify only as one thing...

...The arrival of the wonder boy Uzumaki Naruto.

True to what the siblings thought of, they saw the figure of Naruto flying in the air, until he stopped directly above the outpost.

He lingered there for a moment before he flew upwards again.

"What is he going to..."

Shinji's answer came in the form of the whiskered boy coming down with an incredible speed.

**"BOOOM!"**

...And when he landed, he instantly delivered a kinetic explosion which magnitude can be equaled to that of an explosion that could destroy a large building.

All in all, it created quite a spectacle.

The aftermath is not so beautiful however, as the ground that Naruto had landed upon become cracked due to the force that he emitted, and his surroundings was filled with the debris from the wall of the outpost and the bandits that was repelled by the force of the explosion.

Most of the bandits were wounded, either because of the debris that fell upon them, or because they were in a close proximity of the impact that it rendered them near to the brink of death due to the collateral effects of the explosion that flayed parts of their skin.

Even the few who were lucky enough to be alive were wounded in one way or another, but because they retain their consciousness, they were able to see the one who did such a thing.

And they certainly did not expect that it would be a boy of twelve to fourteen years of age, despite the look in his eyes that shows he is far more mature and collected than his actual age.

Not to mention that his eyes currently shows how absolutely _furious _he is.

The Sakihara siblings collected themselves pretty fast and saw that Naruto is beginning to march into the leader's den.

And as he walks towards it, the door leading to the den was opened, showing a big, burly man wearing an impressive-looking traditional armor, his expression shows his anger at the destruction that has been wreaked at his base.

...Well that, or the anger could have come from being interrupted by whatever he was doing before, more so if he find it enjoyable.

"What the hell happened here!" He yelled out loud as he watched his outpost utterly ransacked and his men were on the ground, incapacitated.

"Take a guess!" He heard someone yell back, and when he turned to the source, he saw a young man walking towards him rather menacingly "What the hell do you think happened here, Genma Inoki? What could _possibly_ be the cause of such destruction?" He asked rhetorically with a bit of sarcasm dripping through his tone as he expanded his arms outwards.

"Who are you, you insolent boy! How dare you talk to me like that?" He boisterously yelled.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I dare, because you are not someone worthy to be polite to." The blonde boy answered, his eyes focused towards the man Naruto had every intention to give a lesson not to destroy an entire settlement just because he doesn't like someone loitering on his fortress.

The man flinched at his gaze, it's as if he's staring into a deep abyss and it began to return his stare with its own.

But he foolishly put a bravado and goes "What do you want?"

Naruto gritted his teeth, and said "To teach you a lesson. You ordered the settlement of Shirohane to be burned down to the ground just because someone saw this outpost, correct?"

However, Naruto didn't even let him talk as he continues "I don't want to hear you answer it, whether it's a yes or no, it doesn't matter, you can confess or you can lie, but I've heard the truth from one of your subordinates so whatever your answer's going to be, it won't matter."

After Naruto finished his talk, the surroundings began to subtly shake, as if there is some kind of an earthquake.

However, Genma didn't pay attention to the tiny quake, as he was stricken with great fear at the young man in front of him. 'He... he's just like him...!' He thought, terrified at the realization that this young man's eyes shows anger, and that he felt that this... Naruto Uzumaki could murder him with just the flick of his finger.

...If he only knew...

"Because you disgust me with your vile intention, how dare you even think of murdering a whole town just because someone saw your so called 'hidden' outpost, people like you deserve their just retribution."

Genma tried unsheathing his blade, only for him to be stopped midway by some unknown force that forces him to stay still.

And when he was stopped, his ears heard a strange noise, like a humming noise that can be made if you hit a large hollow bronze bell with a hammer, such noise that shouldn't have occured naturally, or without any visible source that could have made it.

He would have moved, but his ability to do so were halted, and even though he didn't exactly know how it could've happened...

...He had a feeling that the boy in front of him is the perpetrator of such unnatural occurrences.

Genma gritted his teeth, despite his fear, there is an underlying rage that compelled him to -at the very least- fight the boy that could control forces beyond human limits.

But his efforts are for naught, as his strength cannot even budge through Naruto's hold.

Slowly, Naruto approached him, his fist clenched in anger, and in doing so, he unconsciously lifted the dusts and pebbles around him in a fit of power-enhanced rage.

And then, his punishment came in the form of a _very _powerful punch to his stomach.

If it were a normal punch, Genma wouldn't have felt the repercussion of the impact. However, Naruto's ability allowed him to amplify his attack due to the layer of kinetic barrier surrounding his skin that made his skin as hard as steel, if not more, and he also delivers a kinetic explosion that nearly destroyed the steel armor that Genma wore.

Meaning, in addition of punching him with a force equal of a charging bull that has been genetically enhanced to be overly muscled, he also sent a kinetic explosion that wounded his innards, doubling the previous effect in the process, wounding him both externally and internally.

He was sent flying through the forests and ended up destroying several trees in the process.

In the end, it left him as nothing more than a bloodied man.

After doing that, Naruto closed his eyes and steady his breathing in order to quell the rage inside of him.

_**"Satisfied, kit?" **_Kurama asked through their link.

After a couple of breaths, he responded "Pretty much... But was that man the so-called War Beast? If so, he doesn't seem to be as strong as the stories told us."

_**"He wasn't," **_Kurama answered, _**"If I've to speculate, He was once a part of the War Beast's group, but he dissented for some reason, and built another group of his own, some of the War Beast's trusted men might've followed him also due to their similar ideas, whatever that may be."**_

Naruto hummed in response, despite his numbing headaches that's starting to plague his mind, "Interesting speculation... but let's find the prisoners, yeah? I think Shizuka mentioned that they captured prisoners here..."

"They're at the dungeon."

Hearing the familiar voice of one blonde woman that he knows, he turned around and found Shizuka Sakihara coming towards him, "The naturally-made cave was made into a dungeon by them to hold any dissenters or prisoners."

Despite seeing her serious expression, Naruto said "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go."

But before Naruto could even walk towards the dungeon, his arm was gripped tight by Shizuka, "Shinji will take care of that."

The moment she said that, Naruto turned around towards the cave, and there Shinji was, going inside the cave to rescue the prisoners, leaving Naruto with Shizuka.

"What happened at Shirohane, Naruto?"

"...His subordinates was going to burn it down." He answered simply, prompting Shizuka's eyes to widen, but he calmed her down by saying; "Don't worry though, I stopped them before they could manage to do so."

Shizuka's expression turned to relief that he managed to stop them, but then... "Did you..." She trailed off, a bit afraid of saying what she wants to say next.

"...Kill them? No." For a moment, Shizuka felt relieved, "But I did left them at the settlers' mercy, don't know which is worse."

And her relief was instantly gone. A mob could, technically, deliver a much harsher punishment to the arsonists.

"But I don't know about that guy though..." Naruto nonchalantly said about the man whom Naruto had sent towards the forest at terminal velocity.

Shizuka sighed, she could understand his anger at the man's intention, and she could understand why he punished him that way, therefore, despite being dissatisfied with his actions, she decided to let it go.

"Don't worry, he probably deserved worse." Shizuka said.

Sighing more to himself, Naruto replied with a weak "...Maybe..."

As they looked at the destruction he had caused, Shizuka said "For just spending two days with your ability without any mentor you sure get powerful fast."

Naruto smiled, albeit, rather awkwardly, because as much as he liked the praise, he knows that he got this powerful because he had help.

From hundreds of clones that could share their knowledge and memories the moment they dispersed and the wisdom -putting it rather mildly- from an energy being shaped like a fox.

"Yeah, well... as much as I like to say that I did it all on my own, I had some help..."

She turned towards him with an expression akin to surprise, and asked him "Really? Who? As I recall, no one else had an ability like you, even Shinobies from any major village such as Konoha."

"Well... trade secret, that's all I could say about that."

Before Shizuka could say anything more, Shinji, along with the prisoners got out of the man-made dungeon, some of them looked horrible, 'Granted, they could look worse if they weren't rescued, glad that I came before their conditions could get any worse.'

As the last of the prisoners was escorted, Naruto turned to Shizuka, "Well, what happens now?"

It took a moment before Shizuka said "Well, I need to bring that guy to someone who can tell me how much that guy's worth..." She said as she points towards the direction that Genma had flown off to.

"And I usually take the loots that they have in addition to the money that I got, but it seems that these people need them more than I do."

Naruto nodded in understanding, "So that leaves this base as somewhat of a loose end, right?"

"Right." Shizuka confirmed, "Usually, I would leave it well enough alone... But if this were to be left this way, it could leave some people to use this place again, this fortress _is_ pretty big."

"True..." Naruto muttered. Then he smirked, and said "Do you think we should ransack the place?"

Returning his grin with her own, she replied, "It seems we're of the same mind here... Let these people out first, take whatever we can, and then come back and destroy this place."

Shinji, who is watching from quite a distance, merely sighed seeing the sight of the two blondes grinning like a maniac at the prospect of destruction. 'Another one of her kind eh...? I don't know if it's because she rubbed off on him too much, or it's because it's his nature... either way, neither one of them is better than the other I guess...'

...

_Twenty minutes later..._

In the middle of his task of escorting the former prisoners, -along with bringing the loots with him to be shared equally among the previously captured and dragging the unconscious ass named Genma-, Shinji could hear the sound of the fortress' destruction, even when they are quite far away.

The humongous woods that were used as the walls of the fortress was taken down by brute force, but whether it was from Naruto or Shizuka, he doesn't know.

Given that his sister is very strong in her own right, it doesn't surprise him at the least if she were the one who took the walls down and not Naruto.

Seeing that some of the people he's escorting turned towards the fortress, he said "Alright people, let's just move forward and leave the juggernauts do what they do best, alright?" To which, they comply.

But after continuing down the road for another twenty minutes, he, and the rest of his escort stopped in their tracks again as they felt an unnatural movement of the wind.

Turning towards the way the wind blows, he saw that it's starting to form a tornado, right in the middle of the fortress, presumably adding to the destruction that the two blondes have caused before.

But he had a feeling that it was not a freakish coincidence.

'In fact, considering his ability, it's not a big surprise that it's _him _that summoned that...'

But despite that, he sighed in disappointment, 'I wish I was the one who can see whether it's really him or not...' He thought before he shook his head, 'Of course it's him, if not him, who else could make that?'

The idea that there's someone else that could 'move' everything with his mind other than the blonde haired boy scares him somewhat.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

"Honestly, do you really have do that back there?" Shizuka asked in disapproval towards the younger blonde she's carrying on her shoulders.

"I don't... it was worth it though..." He replied back with tiredly.

Shizuka sighed as she remembers how they got to this position.

They were just finished thoroughly ransacking the place, with her using her abnormal strength and Naruto using the new technique dubbed; 'Kinetic Shockwave' that can annihilate large constructs in a wave of destructive kinetic energy. And she had to say that it was rather satisfying, granted, it's not like pummeling a bandit, but it was as satisfying as that, if not more.

But then, while they were just finished destroying the majority of the fortress, Naruto grinned and say; _"I think I have an idea, I would like you get as far away as you can, there's something I got to test..."_

A bit confused by his sudden request, she replied; _"Why do I feel that I'm not going to like this idea?"_

He merely chuckled and answered; _"You won't, but this is something that I **have **__to test..."_

She didn't know why she agreed at the time...

...But after stopping at what she deems as a safe distance, she saw as the wind began to speed up and converge in the center of the fortress in the form of a large tornado.

After a few minutes of gawking at the sight, she went back to the ruined fortress...

...And found the figure of an extremely exhausted Naruto, who is supporting himself with both his feet and his hands as he tried to breathe regularly.

In the end, she had to carry him, because he was severely weakened after doing such a feat that he cannot even stand up properly.

"...And not to mention that you never tried that before? Your current condition could be worse than it is now, do you realize that?"

Naruto sighed, "Yeah... again, I apologize for my reckless behavior," he apologized, before he smirked "But you got to admit that it was rather awesome."

"...Hmph... yeah, if I have to be honest, it was quite awesome."

Sharing the same lopsided smile, both blondes continue their way towards the settlement.

...

When they arrived, they saw that most of the settlers have already fixed the damages that the fires had caused, thanks to Naruto's intervention, it didn't create significant damages.

And it seems that the would-be arsonists are still tied up without any additional bruises, which suggests that the settlers didn't torture them or do something akin to that notion.

Something that makes Naruto rather proud of them, despite leaving them to their mercy, the settlers didn't stoop down to the level of these bandits.

"H-hey, it's him!" Someone claimed.

Hearing someone yelled as he points towards Naruto, the others stopped whatever they were doing and looked at him.

And when they saw him, their face brightened, as they saw the young man who had saved them.

In a matter of seconds, Naruto, along with Shizuka, who is still carrying him, were surrounded by dozens of people, most of them are praising and thanking him for what he had done.

"What's your name kiddo?" One of them asked.

"Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto." He answered.

"...Your name is fishcake?"

That question earned some laughs from the settlers, including Naruto himself, and it seems he's not that irritated with it, but he did correct him, "No, it means Maelstrom." To which everyone hummed in understanding.

"Alright then, everyone! Let's hear it for Uzumaki Naruto!"

The oncoming 'ooraah!' and 'yeeaah!' were not entirely unexpected, but it did surprise him nonetheless, that they would be so grateful to him, all he did was just something that he's capable of doing, and to him, it was not anything exceptional.

All he could do in return, is to smile, and blend in with the happiness that he had brought.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

It was nightfall, and Shirohane once again falls silent.

It took Naruto quite a bit of his time to finish talking to all the settlers, given his rather short time living there, most of the settlers only know him as the new employee for the store that the Sakihara siblings had built.

But now, due to his heroic act, the local children had given him some names, such as 'The Blonde Savior', 'The Great Naruto', and even 'The Flying Kitsune'.

... He suspected that it's because of his whiskers, 'Even though it could be any kind of animal with whiskers, like cats, maybe? How did they instantly connect with Kitsune?' he wondered.

But there was one name that really sticks to his head.

_"You're Superman..."  
><em>

And the name was proposed from the girl with the pigtails that called him 'Onii-san' when he rescued her and the rest of the settlers.

'...Superman... granted, the name's catchy, it has that heroic feel to it... but I don't know... hero alias is a bit childish in my opinion.' Naruto thought.

_**"And considering that you won't be doing any vigilante work... I don't think that you need any alias for anytime soon..."**_said Kurama.

"Yeah, and if I have to have an alias, I would like to be called the Gale Maelstrom."

...

There was silence for a couple of seconds, before Naruto finally say; "...Kurama... is it just me... or the name sounds rather..."

_**"...Catchy? Fitting? Iconic?" **_completed Kurama.

"...Well...?" He asked the Bijuu again.

_**"Quite mouthful, but it's a good alias."**_

Naruto chuckled before he responded with; "Yeah... but still, it's not a necessity." But then he continues with; "By the way, I forgot to ask you about my body's condition. What's really going on with my body?"

_**"Ah yes, your abundance of stamina despite the lack of rest," **_Kurama said, _**"It turns out that the Crystal did change how your body works, your stamina, strength and dexterity are above average human, or equal to an average soldier of war."**_

Naruto smiled wryly at the answer that was given, "Well, that's... an improvement I guess."

_**"Calling it an improvement would be an understatement kit,"**_Kurama remarked, _**"Without even adding your power to the equation, you have the potential to reach the pinnacle of human physicality solely by getting older, and if you're more than willing to train it a bit more..."**_

"...I could very well become a nigh-perfect human." Naruto concluded.

_**"Exactly, and considering the fact that you haven't reach puberty yet, your body will improve more than it has now."**_

It took him a few moment of silence to fully digest the information that has been given to him, but he concluded that the changes are not a bad thing, and it could help him in a long run.

And when he realized that Kurama didn't put in the fact that sooner or later he would have a mind of the same level as Yondaime along with his psychokinesis power, he could very well become the strongest, and the most respected Shinobi that ever lived.

Smiling rather proudly -and smugly- at himself at the thought, he becomes more confident at what he had decided this afternoon.

It is high time for him to leave for Konoha.

Even though it has been rather fun in Shirohane, with the Sakihara siblings helping him by providing shelter, food, and clothes, he feels that it's time to leave.

After all, he has spent two days -three, if he were to stay for the night again- in Shirohane and leaving everyone in Konoha, particularly the Sandaime, without them knowing where he is, and how he's doing.

...And not to mention that Kurama said that the Hokage saw what happened after he gained his power...

'All the more reason for me to go then...'

Though he doesn't deny that he will miss the siblings, they are some of the few people that he can consider as precious, because even though he was a perfect stranger to them just two days ago, they still treated him as if they're a part of their family.

Something he can only experience whenever he was with Jiji, or with Teuchi and Ayame.

He sighed more to himself, 'How could I forgot the friends that I've left...?'

Deciding to leave only with the clothes on his person, he walked down the stairs, hoping that he would be able to leave without them noticing.

A sound of a switch being clicked pretty much make the idea rather useless.

When he turned, he saw the siblings sitting in the couch, looking at him with different expressions, Shizuka with her stern glare, and Shinji with his amused gaze as he uses his hand to support his head.

"Where are you going Naruto?" Shizuka asked.

Naruto noticed that her tone isn't as stern or filled with a bit of anger as her expression would suggest, in fact, it was rather calm.

Though he knows that such dissonance could mean something worse, but he doesn't want to assume anything until he fully hears what she wants to say.

And knowing that lying won't do him any good, he decided to be honest, "I'm leaving the place, and it won't be temporary."

Their expressions changed to a simple slight surprise, but it was less than he had anticipated.

"Why do you want to leave?" Shinji asked.

Naruto sighed before he said; "Because... I want to return to where I came from, I'm from Konoha. I stumbled here because I needed some clothes and a place to crash for a while so that I can train my powers for a little bit... and it turns out to be longer than I expected."

Leaning towards him as she's still sitting down, Shizuka said; "Look Naruto, we're not going to prevent you from leaving... but at the very least we want to know why, so please sit down, talk to us."

Naruto blinked, twice, and after a few seconds, he relented and sat down on the chair directly in front of the couch that the siblings occupied.

"Well, to give you a sense of context... let me start with the last two years on my life and to how I got here..."

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

"...And, that's pretty much how life goes for me these past two years, at least as far as I can remember... and given that it hadn't been that much different since I was seven, Chronicles of two years from my life wouldn't be less important than the one with five and... Wait, why... why do you guys looked like you're holding back tears?"

Before Naruto could respond, Shizuka walked closer to him and gave him a hug while she stroke his head.

Which made the whiskered boy rather confused, and prompted him to say; "...Uh... okay, while I appreciate the physical contact, why are you hugging me out of nowhere?"

She sniffed before she pulled back from her hug and looked into his eyes, "Out of nowhere? It's not out of nowhere, you told us how you're an orphan without a clue to who your parents were, you have been living by yourself for five years, you were treated as if you're an outcast your whole life, and despite your struggle to be known, only few acknowledge you... Yet, even with all of that, you're still able to smile as if you're living a joyous life... If anything, I- I wish I had known earlier, to treat you better than I have."

Despite leaving the sealing of Kyuubi out of the equation -to which the fox agreed-, Naruto's life was not a happy-go-lucky story, and it made the siblings rather saddened at hearing the situation of his life.

But despite that, Naruto considered it as an uneasy life, but not a saddening one. Sure, he was a little jealous and angry at children who took their parent's love and care for granted, and he once dreamed of having a family that loves him, but due to the treatments that had been given to him, he had become a bit desensitized. "But you did treat me well, you gave me shelter, clothing, and meals for free, I don't know if you can top that." Naruto responded.

Shinji chuckled mirthlessly, "We _can_ top that, kid, we could've given you a treatment far better than the one we gave you, or your village for that matter."

Naruto sighed, "Thanks for the thought guys, but really, I... don't want to use your compassion to get better treatment or something like that, that's why I didn't tell you about my life before." He said before he continues with; "Well, that, and the fact that you never asked in the first place."

Shizuka chuckled with the same tone that her brother used, "True... I guess with all that has happened, we... kinda forget about it."

The blonde young boy smiled, "Well, that's all there is to it, and as to why I want to go back... it's because..." He trailed off and chuckled, "...The old me would say because I want to be the Hokage and prove those who looked down on me that they're wrong... But now, I want to go back to Konoha because it's the place where I come from, and despite the majority of those that dislike me, I have several people that I consider as my friends, and I... I don't want to just leave them."

"...What about us though?" Shinji asked.

But before Naruto could answer, Shizuka beat him to the punch, "You consider us as your friends... But as much as you like to stay, you don't want to leave those you have left behind in your village."

"...Yeah..." Naruto answered.

Shizuka sighed again, "Alright, ...alright... we understand your reason, you're free to go." She sadly mouthed out.

She hugged him again, this time, he reciprocates it as Shinji quipped; "Though it will get somewhat boring around here, not to mention your new fans will be asking where you go."

Smiling a bit mischievously, he replied with; "Well... tell them that Superman's hometown needs his assistance."

Shizuka chuckled at his reply, "That name sticks huh?"

In return, he merely shrugged, "Well, it was the name that the people here would call me from now on, so... why not?" He asked rhetorically, "But I'll stick to my own name for most of the time though."

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Looking down towards the store named Vigilance and the town called Shirohane that he had become attached to as he floats above them, he feels sad to leave them after just a couple of days.

But he had made his choice, no matter how much he likes being here, he cannot ignore his origin, he is of Konoha. And he has friends that are waiting back home, it would be rude of him to just leave them.

And as he looked down, he could see that Shinji and Shizuka are looking back at him, but due to the darkness and the distance, he could not clearly see their expression.

But despite that, he could tell that they are looking at him with the expression that is akin to sadness.

Muttering a faint "Thank you." to the siblings below him, he flew off towards the direction of Konoha.

...And he never heard the words; "You're welcome." that was spoken by Shizuka.

* * *

><p><strong>End of Chapter 02<strong>

* * *

><p>And with that, we say goodbye to Shirohane, and welcome back Konoha.<p>

...But not until next chapter though.

Badliar2312, out.


	4. Chapter 3: The Arrival

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. But if I do happen to somehow own it someday, it would be one of the happiest days of my ordinary life.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3:The Arrival.<br>**

* * *

><p>It was dead night in Konoha, the time when little kids along with their parents are sleeping to rest after a hard day at work or at the academy.<p>

Some of the Shinobies of Konoha, mostly Chuunin, are still patrolling the village of course, as it is their duty to serve their village, and therefore, sacrificing their sleep for their patrol shifts.

That's why, due to some of them who are tired and causing their lack of attention, they never noticed something up in the sky that flew past them, and landed on one of the less-frequently patrolled area of the village.

The flying thing that landed was a seemingly normal human, a young man with short spiky blonde hair, a pair of blue eyes, and three pairs of thin-lined whiskers on each cheek, Uzumaki Naruto is his name, the one with the infamous moniker of 'The Blonde Troublemaker', and more recently, 'Superman'.

...Though he would rather be called by his own name, thank you very much. That moniker was a bit too much, even for him.

The area that he landed on is the district that he is rather familiar with, thanks to several years of living in the apartment that is located in there.

And it is the very same apartment that is currently in front of his position.

Calmly, he walks towards the stairs leading to his apartment, while he could just jump up from below, he likes to take his time to do something mundane, it makes him feel... human, for a lack of a better word.

But when he was right in front of his door, he just realized something important.

'Damn it, I lost my key.' he thought.

When he took the Forbidden Scroll, he didn't forget to lock his apartment and brought the key with him so that he could return afterwards. But with the event regarding the Crystal and his torn clothes... 'Not to mention that it might've fallen down when you were flying Kurama...'

_**"Hm... Yeah, I think I remembered something fell down from one of your pocket when I flew towards the Crystal deposit near Shirohane, didn't think it was important though." **_Kurama, the Kyuubi no Youko that was sealed within him answered back.

Naruto sighed, as he muttered; "I'll just ask the landlady to give me a copy of hers in the morning, right now though..." he stretched one of his hands towards the handle, and when he touched it, he used his telekinesis to manually lock the door.

When he heard the clicking sound that tells him that the door has been unlocked, he completed his muttering with a faint smirk; "I'll just use that..."

He entered the dark room and closed the door, locking it back with his telekinesis.

Seeing that he need some light, he tried to find the switch near the door, which he found with little trouble.

And when the room was illuminated from the light bulb that he had turned on, he saw that his apartment was rather messy... or, to be more precise, it was downright atrocious.

'...Oh yeah... I did create some mess around here before I go...' he muttered out loud.

_**"Goddamn this place is a wreck, I am surprised at how you're always okay with living like this, I mean, I'm not the one to talk to about neatness, but even I find this incredibly mortifying." **_Kurama remarked.

"Yeah, I'm surprised at myself as well..." Naruto replied.

Deciding that the room would have to be cleaned first, Naruto uses his near-perfect control of his telekinesis to move all the junks from its unintended place, moving the unaligned furnitures so that it would be at the right angle, removing some stains... All of this with an impressive precision on what to use and how.

Within ten minutes, the apartment looks far better compared to the horrible state that it has before.

And thanks to his extensive training, Naruto is far from tired, compared to summoning a tornado, cleaning the apartment is anything but hard.

He smiled to himself, somewhat satisfied with his work, he closed the drapes that is on the window, then, feeling rather famished, he went to the cupboard where he kept all of his instant ramen and took one for himself.

Then he goes into the kitchen, pour some water into a kettle, turned on the stove, and finally, placed the kettle to boil the water.

Naruto then used his telekinesis to prep his meal, something that he finds... fascinating.

_**"Really? Kit, you gotta use your limbs sometimes, this power is very handy, but if you use it for every mundane thing you'll become a lazy-ass like some men from the clan of Nara." **_Kurama advised.

"Relax, I won't be like them, besides, if you think about it, this power can be a substitute for my limbs as well, a more versatile and useful limbs. So it would be a waste for me not to use it." Naruto rebutted.

_**"I see your reasoning Kit, but my point still stands, while you still have your corporeal form, you use it to its full potential."**_

Naruto chuckled and said; "Alright, alright. Whatever you say you big worrisome furball."

He heard the giant fox growled a bit in slight indignation, but without any reply for his quip from earlier. Naruto chuckled some more and resume what he's doing.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

A pair of brown eyes hidden beneath the cat mask of an ANBU Kunoichi with purple hair watched the light coming from the window of the apartment that she had been observing for the past few days in slight fascination.

After spending some days of being ordered to observe Naruto Uzumaki's apartment in case he returned, Yuugao Uzuki were slowly losing hope, she was beginning to believe that the boy's strange disappearance that allowed him to fly away was permanent, and that he would never return.

Iruka Umino, his Academy teacher who saved him from being killed by the traitor Mizuki, was also worried about his well-being, but no matter how much he is willing to go to find him, the Hokage wouldn't let him due to his duties in the Academy that cannot be skipped.

All that they could do is wait, if he returns, it's good. But if he doesn't, then the Hokage would try to at least find him using any resources available to him.

And now, her observation bears fruit, she knew it the moment the lights were turned on by someone that walks through the front door.

She saw the one who entered through the window of the apartment, a blonde young man with a pair of blue eyes wearing blue shirt with a white colored five-point star symbol on the middle of his chest, it was really Uzumaki Naruto.

But, she also saw that he 'moved' the things inside, or to be more precise, levitated the things inside the apartment to fix the apartment's atrocious mess before the drapes were closed due to an invisible force, disabling her ability to observe further.

Putting the strange things aside, Yuugao Uzuki decided that the Hokage must be informed immediately.

Using a standard Shunshin, the Kunoichi disappeared, leaving only swirling leaves on where she once stood.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

After some minutes, Naruto finished the miso-flavored instant ramen that he had prepared and filled his previously empty stomach.

Feeling full after the meal and finished cleaning it up, he now wondered what he should do.

Because despite still being awake in dead of night, he is not very sleepy, in fact, he still feels as if it is still in the afternoon, his eyelids doesn't feel heavy at all.

Sighing more to himself, Naruto stood up and began to levitate things at random while he's thinking about what he should do next.

One minute he twirled several object above one of his opened palm, the next he levitates himself and twirling himself around the room like an astronaut navigating himself inside a zero gravity spaceship, and on the last phase of his boredom, he decided to close his eyes in mid-air while humming notes that he made up within his mind.

He knows that he could be spending time with training or visiting some of Yondaime's memories, but he decided to try to relax per Kurama's suggestion.

And he's trying _hard _to succeed.

After a few hours of dawdling around his apartment without doing anything of importance, including summoning one of his clones and talking to him... (which was somewhat enlightening, considering that he discovered how the clones seems to mimic most of his personality but not the things that the original would do in certain situation), Naruto decided that he would rather take a walk outside.

'Perhaps closed spaces aren't really my thing...' he thought when he got outside of his apartment's door and locked it using his telekinesis.

And he find that little thought to be somewhat true, he felt more peaceful at open spaces, 'But maybe it's because I'm not tired, that would be the logical conclusion, seeing that I never had any trouble dealing with closed spaces before...'

He placed his hands on the pockets of his pants as he walks towards no particular direction or purposes, finding the cold breeze of night and the reigning silence that comes with the current time as soothing.

When he entered the park area, he sat on one of the nearby bench, his back leans forward as he uses his knees to rest his arms.

Naruto let the cold breeze of the night to soothe his mind and closes his eyes to truly feel it...

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

_Cold winds breezes through his body, the night forest that he is traversing towards his destination.  
><em>

_He was alone, and determined to rescue the person he loved the most, and to kill the bastard who did this to his wife and his newborn baby.  
><em>

_He gritted his teeth, the masked man will pay for this, he threatened to kill the life of his baby right after he was out of her womb, and he escaped just when he's about to hand his ass to him in a fair fight.  
><em>

_'He must be planning this for sometime... this is the moment where the seal was weakened after all... damn it, I should've seen it coming.' he thought with desperation.  
><em>

_When he escaped with her, he went into one of his hiding places using his technique and bring his battle gears to prepare to fight.  
><em>

_After all, when a Jinchuuriki, especially the one that he held dear to him is involved in a situation where she is put in a mortal danger, he must be prepared for anything.  
><em>

_He increased his speed, and the thoughts echoed on his mind, 'Just hang in there Kushina... Na..."  
><em>

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

"...Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto!"

...The next time he opened his eyes, it was because someone had called his name rather loudly to shook him out of his memories/dream.

Instead of throwing a fit due to being woken up so abruptly, Naruto was calm, despite the dream, he felt his saliva trailing down from his lip and wipe it using the back of his hand and looked at the one calling his name.

"About time you woke up." Spoke the ANBU woman with purple hair and cat mask.

"...Neko-san." Naruto replied, he knows this woman, though not her name, she's one of the few ANBU that he frequently saw around when they think they're hiding when he was a little kid, he always thought that they were there watching someone near him.

Something that he now knows to be untrue.

"How long was I asleep?" He questioned.

"Four hours at most, it's seven a.m. now." She succinctly replied.

Despite sleeping for only a short time, Naruto still feel good, not better, just the same as he was before he fell asleep. Turning to the ANBU, he asked; "Do you wake me up for some reason Neko-san?" 'And just when I would get to the point of the dream as well...'

The ANBU nodded, "Yes, I have been ordered by Hokage-sama to call you into his office, he really wants to meet you after your disappearance."

Naruto smiled, "I'm sure he is..." he said before he halts and look towards the ANBU once again, "By the way, do you know what happened? I remembered waiting for Mizuki when the Crystal was..." he trailed off.

The ANBU answered with; "I believe that it is the privilege of the Hokage to give the full answer, but I can tell you that your teacher Mizuki was setting you up."

Hearing the answer, Naruto instantly remembered how... fishy it was for the Chuunin to give the so-called 'test' to him, so he scoffed and said; "Should've known..." he stood up from the bench and ended the conversation with; "Thank you for telling me and waking me up Neko-san, I shall go there immediately."

And with that, he took off.

And by that, it means he took off from the ground and flew towards the Hokage's office, creating a slight change of air pressure that caused the place where he lifted off to expel the nearby dusts everywhere.

Along with leaving a shell-shocked ANBU behind him.

After she stuttered some words that would've made some sense if she weren't so befuddled and caused her to mess up every word that comes out of her mouth, she breathed out; "What... the... hell just happened?"

And just when she was about to tell him that she would Shunshined them there too...

...But from the looks of things, it doesn't seem like he needs one.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

When he arrived at the front of the Hokage's tower, he stopped mid-flight and slowly floats down afterwards.

_**"That was a bit too much wasn't it Kit?" **_Kurama asked as the blonde walks towards the tower and ignoring the few amount of bewildered onlookers that saw his landing.

Naruto merely smirked and said; 'What is a bit too much, Kurama?' with his mind instead of his mouth.

_**"That impromptu flight, that was to scare that ANBU woman wasn't it?" **_

The blonde young man chuckled, 'Not scare, I just thought that it was fun to incite some reaction to someone who never see such a thing.' he answered, 'What? I thought you, out of everyone would approve.'

His response was an echoing chuckle on the back of his head, _**"I didn't say that I didn't approve, I like what you did, I just thought that you have standards that wouldn't allow you to do such things... and it seems that I was wrong, one of the few occasions where I am pleased that I was."**_

'Glad you feel that way then Kurama.' Naruto replied succinctly with a smirk. 'Though... she did interrupt my dream, or memory viewing... what was that all about though?'

_**"I saw it as well."**_ Kurama replied, _**"It was a... special memory, one where in involves a man that... made all of this happen."**_

After hearing the fox's answer, Naruto goes to say; '...Then you do understand that we _will_ talk about this, right?'

_**"I do. But for now, let's meet the old coot first."**_

Naruto silently agrees, though he's a bit miffed when he used the words 'old coot', granted, the man is old enough for the nickname to be appropriate, but that doesn't mean that he likes it.

When he arrived at the door leading to the old man's office, he was greeted with the secretary who turned towards him and looked at him with an inqusitive gaze.

Knowing why she looked at him that way, he said to her; "You're looking at me because you feel that you recognize me from somewhere, am I correct?" he asked.

The young secretary was flustered because of his question and said; "Y-you noticed... forgive me for staring, but yes, I do feel as if I know you from somewhere... but I just can't place it..."

Naruto shrugged, "I get that a lot." he lied before he points towards the door and said; "Can I go inside, I was called by the Neko ANBU that he is expecting me."

The secretary nodded and said; "Yes, he did say that Neko would send someone, where is she though?"

Naruto smirked and says; "Let's just say that she is a bit preoccupied right now."

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Hiruzen patiently awaits the arrival of the boy that had disappeared ever since his abrupt exit after the Mizuki Incident as he sat on his chair.

When he heard that Yuugao saw Naruto Uzumaki returned, he was elated, at the very least he now know that the boy is safe. Though she also mentioned that Naruto exhibits strange powers.

_"He was able to move things... without touching them, at least, that's what I saw... him tidying his apartment but without actually physically moving them."_ Those were her words.

Hiruzen was confused, Naruto's powers are unheard of, to be able to move things without physical contact, if it were true, and considering that Yuugao Uzuki had no reason to lie about something like that, someone, or _something,_ must've given that power to Naruto. Because despite the fact the boy's real talent had never been discovered before, no Shinobi in history has that kind of power.

And when his secretary informed him of the arrival, he immediately ordered her to let him in.

And thus, entered Uzumaki Naruto, slightly taller, and also better built, wearing short-sleeved blue shirt with a star symbol on the center that seems to fit his torso, a black jeans, and a pair of black strapped shoes.

Due to Hiruzen's surprise at the boy's overnight growth, he didn't notice that Yuugao Uzuki, the Neko ANBU who were supposed to be with him, wasn't there.

The boy gave a lopsided smile before he said; "Hello old man, been a while." and closed the door behind him.

Hiruzen replied with; "Well... yes, it has. Though... what exactly happened... to you?"

Naruto walked towards the office desk and sat on the opposing chair from Hiruzen, "I've changed, to say the very least, I think that's why you wanted to bring me here. To have some answers."

'...He's a lot calmer than he was before... not to mention the way he talks reminds me of...' Hiruzen's thoughts trailed off as he starts to see the image of a certain blonde Hokage overlapping with the blonde boy in front of him...

Shaking off the thought, he answered, "Yes, that's the reason why. When you touched with the Crystal... your nose bled, and the first thing that you did when you woke up was to fly. But, you were... different, possessed, some might say, your eyes were red and your voice was deep, demonic. What exactly happened?"

Naruto smirked and said; "Kurama happened."

Raising his eyebrows in obvious confusion, Hiruzen proceeds to ask; "Kurama?"

In response, Naruto pointed towards his belly and said; "Kurama."

Hiruzen doesn't get the hint and asked this; "...You... named your stomach... Kurama?"

Naruto blinked twice before he sighed and pull the bottom part of the shirt just enough to show his belly.

Which prompted Hiruzen's eyes to widen, due to the fact that the seal that was supposed to be present were gone, or, if one were to squint their eyes hard enough, faded into a slightly darker skin tone than Naruto's natural tan.

"Y-Your seal... what happened?"

"As I said, Kurama happened." Naruto repeated.

"Who _is _Kurama?" Hiruzen asked with a slight desperate tone.

Naruto, decided to be blunt, said; "Kyuubi."

...

There was... a moment of awkward, tense silence, that was made solely due to Hiruzen's mind going into a state of panic and shock.

"Y-you knew?" Hiruzen finally said.

"_He_ told me, Kurama that is." Naruto answered, "I know that he was sealed by Yondaime within me, and I know that it was the reason why most of the villagers sees me as if I'm a plaguebearer, and I know that you have been keeping this secret from me for a very long time."

Before Hiruzen could say anything to apologize, or to defend Yondaime's actions, Naruto continues; "Rest assured, I don't blame you, nor Minato Namikaze, it was not something you, or he had control upon, not to mention Kurama as well, whatever his reason was, I can't stuck my head in the past that cannot be changed."

...Now the better question would be what in the name of all that is good and pure in the world happened to him. Hiruzen thought.

When Naruto walked in, he didn't expect that he would grow so fast, both physically and mentally, and it's somewhat unnerving to him, due to the fact that it was only three days since his disappearance, too short of a time for him to mature that much.

"What... exactly happened to you Naruto?" Hiruzen asked, "You've... matured, very quickly I might add, it's only been three days since then."

Naruto smiled wryly and said; "Let's just say that several things that are responsible for my changes happened concurrently during my disappearance, they were somewhat painful, but it's nothing much considering what I got in return."

"What is it that you get?"

In response, Naruto 'pulled' the ashtray on Hiruzen's desk to his hand using his telekinesis power.

It happened so quickly that it took a moment for Hiruzen to realize what had happened.

Naruto threw the ashtray upward and back to his hand repeatedly as he sees the bewildered face of his grandfather figure, said; "Power of an unknown origin and limit."

Still reeling from the show of ability, Hiruzen can only say... "..."

"In case you're wondering where I got this ability..." Naruto continues as if he didn't notice the old man's state, "It came from the blue Crystal that I found from the Forbidden Scroll, -I apologize for taking that without your consent by the way-, it changed me in ways that you could imagine, but not actually realize possible. It change how my chakra is being circulated and in turn, it enables my mental connection with Kurama, or Kyuubi."

...

"...I see..." said Hiruzen after a _long _moment of silence, "When I saw how you were bleeding from your nose when you touched the Crystal, I was expecting the worst, but it seems that it gave you something better..."

"That it did." Naruto confirmed, "Though I have to ask you this, what exactly _is _the Crystal? Even Kurama doesn't really know about its existence or how it could give such ability, but I suspect that the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, must've known, since he's the one that wrote the letter that accompanied that section of the scroll."

"To whoever it may concern, never open this seal and what's inside of it, for if you do, severe consequences will befall you." Hiruzen repeated the words, "I know that writing, Hashirama-sensei wrote that when he decided to seal that Crystal, despite the fact that unless the stealer passed a certain requirement that only few people has."

"And that few includes me." Naruto said, "But what is the requirement?"

"The Chakra pattern of an Uzumaki." Hiruzen answered, "The seal was made by Hashirama-sensei's wife, Mito Uzumaki, and she designed it so that the seal could only be opened by a relative of hers... and you're one of the last of the Uzumaki clan..."

Naruto's smile faded as his expression turned rather serious, and then he says; "Kurama mentioned her once, Mito Uzumaki, he said that she was my great aunt."

Pausing for a moment to fully digest the 'Kurama=Kyuubi' part, Hiruzen replied with; "Yes, I think she was. Anyway, the story of how the Crystal was found is when one of the mine deposits that contained the Crystal was found by a miner in a small settlement, some of the workers who was informed chipped some of the Crystals and kept it, believing it to be some sort of valuable mineral, like a gold or an amethyst."

"But after a couple of days, the workers who didn't get their share of Crystals, reported the founding directly to the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni due to its unnatural origin and how some people that has been exposed with the Crystal for a prolonged amount of time began to exhibit initial symptoms of neurosis and/or psychosis."

"Their mental state was slowly degrading?" Naruto asked.

Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, Hashirama-sensei believed that it was due to their prolonged exposure to the Crystal along with their small amount of Chakra. But when he touched it, sensei felt a great power coming from the Crystal, in his own words, he said that it was as if he is interacting with a living object made of pure energy, to the point that even touching the physical form, which is the Crystal, felt... wrong somehow."

"When sensei was asked by the Daimyo whether or not the Crystal is valuable, he said that it would be better for it to be sealed away. The Daimyo referred to his judgment and tasked him, along with several others, including me, to seal the mine."

"But afterwards, sensei was afraid that the Crystal deposit was not the only one, and he was proven right when he followed a rumor that was spread throughout the Land of Fire about a Crystal deposit miles away from the first one and discovered it before any of the miners could be exposed to its energy."

"For several months, we scour the Land of Fire and our neighboring lands for the Crystal deposits and destroy it, some of the local Kage even offered their aid when they saw firsthand of what the Crystal could do to weaker men."

"What exactly happened to the men from the first Crystal deposit?" asked the blonde young man.

"Some recovered after daily amount of therapy sessions, but most of them were beyond saving." Hiruzen answered with a sad tone, "In the end, all of the Crystal deposits were destroyed, leaving nothing but destroyed mines and caves."

"But sensei kept that small Crystal that you found," Hiruzen said, "He believed it to be the last one left on the world, he had the full intention to destroy it, but his wife, Uzumaki Mito, said that she would like it to be kept someplace else instead, because despite the dangerous nature that the Crystal has, she thought it would be wise to keep at least the last one someplace where it could not be taken instead of destroying it."

"...And a couple of decades later, one of her relatives went and steal the scroll where she placed the Crystal and unlocked it." said Naruto with a lopsided smile.

Hiruzen chuckled faintly and said; "True, it's something that I can say as 'freakish coincidence', there is no possible way that she knew the Crystal that she sealed would be used by her relative that could use the Crystal to empower him instead of destroying him, and to the point that you are similar to her in that she is also a Jinchuuriki of the same Bijuu."

"Somethings are just that freaky I guess." Naruto remarked, earning another laugh from Hiruzen.

"Sometimes it is..." Hiruzen agreed before his expression shifted into a serious visage, dubbed as 'The Kage Mode' among his subordinates.

A look that Naruto have only seen a few times...

...But is more than familiar enough thanks to a certain person's memories...

"Though what I've been wanting to ask is how the Crystal's effect to you is different to others, how do you mature so quickly, and how does the Kyuubi get involved in all of this? What is it planning?"

Naruto's frowned in an expression akin to disappointment, "I assume by _it, _you mean Kurama? Let me warn you first Jiji, he doesn't like to be called like he is some_thing_, instead of a living being, I know that you don't mean the former, but he doesn't take it that way..."

**"And I prefer that he calls me without that noun, a noun for a human male is acceptable."** Kurama said.

"And he said that he preferred to be called a he." Naruto relayed Kurama's message.

"...Naruto... are you sure about this...? Bijuus aren't known to be-"

"-someone, or in most people's cases, something, that can be trusted?" Naruto half-guessed, "The lesser you know, the more you assume the negative, my great aunt Mito Uzumaki treated Kurama to the best of her abilities when she was tasked as a Jinchuuriki, not to mention that the second Jinchuuriki, Kushina Uzumaki, treated him the same way, if they found him to be trustworthy, I don't see why I couldn't."

Naruto saw the old man flinched at the mention of the second Jinchuuriki's name, but it soon fades as Hiruzen asked; "...I assume that... he, Kurama I mean, told you?"

"Only their names and their clan which they belonged to, that shows that they were my family," Naruto said, to which, he saw Hiruzen's expression's to calmed, if only a little.

But Naruto continues, "But let me return to how I ended up different, the answer is: I don't know. And what Kurama is able to get from here, is that the way my body reacted to the energy that it exuded is different."

"As to how I matured this fast... to put it in a nutshell, it's because of a slight mental problem. Which, is not in the very least related to the mental sickness caused by the Crystal to the miners." Naruto added quickly.

"And what's Kurama's 'catch' in all of this? He wanted to help." Naruto finished with a smirk.

Hiruzen stuttered, "H-help?"

"Help, he saw my mistreatment from most of the villagers here as something that I don't deserve, so he helped me by directing my body to a Crystal deposit and absorbed all of it's latent energy to me, enhancing the ability that I already had from the small Crystal in the Forbidden Scroll to several fold." Naruto said.

'So that's what happened that time...' Hiruzen realized."It was... him, that controlled your body, that made you flew..."

Naruto confirmed with a simple nod, "Because of what that little Crystal did, he detected a large Crystal deposit near... a small settlement," Naruto said, without disclosing the settlement's name, "As I said before, he let me absorbed all the Crystal's latent energy, and trained me for three days afterwards, and now... here I am."

"But where did you stay for those three days?"

The blonde boy smiled as he answered; "A pair of siblings housed me for those times, they treated me well."

Hiruzen's expression softens when he saw how Naruto smiles, it was an honest and grateful smile that shows how they treated him, with respect and compassion...

...Which is nothing like how most villagers treats him...

The weary old man sighed in resignation, "Very well, as much as I want to say that it is still dangerous to give your trust to a Bijuu... You look like you can bear the responsibilities for yourself..."

Naruto response is just a simple nod, acknowledging the responsibility that is given to him, though begrudgingly, by his grandfather figure.

"Though, considering that you now know why you were... ostracized in this village... let me just say, that as a leader of Konoha, and not as the old man you knew, that I am truly sorry for you to be treated as such." Hiruzen said with regret as he cast his head down.

He heard Naruto sighed, "Though it's unnecessary, I thank you for your apology." he answered. "Is there anything else, Jiji?"

"As a matter of fact yes," He said, "During the past two days, we were busy handling Mizuki's treason, mainly figuring out how far his reach have gotten, as it turns out, he works solo, foolishly believes that by stealing the Forbidden Scroll that he could become powerful, which is downright stupid, as any experienced Shinobi could tell you, it doesn't take a simple scroll, or one measly Jutsu, no matter how powerful it is, to make someone powerful."

"Let me guess," Naruto said, "It takes experience, the desire to always learn and overcome any obstacles, along with the humility to realize that we are always lacking in something."

"Correct." Hiruzen nodded sagely, "Though talent could get you far as well."

Naruto nodded in agreement, while hard work _can _get you strong, talent determines how much you're going to get.

"You were saying?" Naruto said to continue the previous topic.

"Ah yes, in short, due to their teacher's deed, the Academy was put on hold for sometime, and the time for the team announcement is to be held in a couple of hours. _You _will be there,"

Naruto raised his eyebrows, 'I thought I didn't qualify because of the test...?'

Reading his expression as a sign of his confusion, Hiruzen elaborated, "You failed the test due to your inability to do Bunshin, the rest of them, such as Henge, was pretty well done, according to Iruka, he had asked that when you return, you'd be given the title of Genin, but not because of the formal test, but because of how you did pretty well at sneaking to my house and steal that Scroll."

"...Huh." was Naruto's response after a few seconds, "It's about how I showed my ability in a more practical sense of the word, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically.

Hiruzen merely smiled and said; "Let's just say... it is one of the many loopholes available to a Kage like me." he then unsealed something from his desk, and in a loud poof, there lies a dark blue variant of the forehead protector wore by Konoha Shinobies, "You are a Genin now, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto took the forehead protector and strapped it to his left bicep, he turned to Hiruzen and said; "Thank you Jiji."

Hiruzen nodded and said; "That will be all, Naruto."

The blonde boy stood up, but before he left the room, Hiruzen delivered his last words; "And Naruto, I would like you to show me this power sometime... get to know it better."

Naruto smirked and said; "If you want to see it then the circumstances must be appropriate old man. We'll just see what happens next, shall we?"

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

_A couple of hours afterwards...  
><em>

Naruto stared at the crimson door leading to the all too familiar classroom of his as if it was something to be feared.

He knows that he arrived rather late for the Genin Team Placement day, he was supposed to arrive ten minutes ago. But he chose to go to his apartment first, take what little money that he has, and search for food.

It was rather surprising really, when he goes to one of the markets to buy some apples to eat for breakfast -something that he had taken a liking to for a certain reason-, most of the villagers treated him normally, no loathing stares, no overly-rude manners, it's as if he is a new -yet somewhat attractively alluring- person.

But returning to his current apparent conundrum, he gazed upon the crimson door as he speculates that, from the class' loud volume, it seems that neither Iruka, or anyone that is tasked to announce the students' teams has arrived just yet.

More time for him to take a breather and calm himself.

_**"Why are you acting like this, Kit?" **_Kurama asked from inside his psyche, _**"Are you scared to enter or something?"  
><strong>_

Naruto mentally replied with; 'It's like this; despite the fact that I've been gone for three days and experienced quite a lot, the same doesn't hold true for these guys, the mindset of the guys inside is not that different from when they saw me last, meaning, to them, I am still that loud, brash boy that goes around pranking people and yelling at the top of his lungs that he is going to be the best Hokage ever.'

'There will be a lot of judgmental staring, a lot of whispering, and a lot of questions from those that dares to ask. Once I open this door, all their attention will turn to me, something that I just need to prepare first, that's all.'

_**"...That's very overly-analytical of you..."** _Kurama began drowsily_,** "Take my advice Kit. Get the hell in there... and don't overthink stuff that is not important! C'mon! Just relax yourself for a change!" **_Kurama suddenly yelled through the link, making the blonde boy winced in the process.

"Alright, alright, Jeez! No need to yell at me like that!" Naruto said out loud.

Deciding to get his act together, Naruto opened the door without hesitation and closed it when he entered.

As he suspected before, he was instantly met with a lot of stares from kids his age, from their expression, Naruto can hear the questions swirling in their mind.

Who is he?

How old is he?

Is he here to be placed into a team as well?

Wow, he's big!

Is he one of our teachers? I never met him before...

Why does he look familiar?

He looks kinda cute.

...

'...Now where did that come from? Was I just speculating, or am I _really _hearing their mental voices in my head? ...Interesting...' Naruto thought.

Deciding to ignore the staring, he walked towards one of the empty spots in the room, he doesn't care where he's sitting, and who's beside him, he just wanted some place to place his butt into and stopped being the center of attention, perhaps when he sits down, they would resume whatever their activities were before he came in.

So when he took a seat on one of the chairs, he didn't notice the one sitting on his right.

And he doesn't really care.

But the onyx-haired kid with equally black eyes whose face is marred by a seemingly ever-present scowl does care, even if it's just a little annoyance, along with a bit of curiosity.

Naruto, despite trying to ignore everyone's stares that doesn't seem to stop, couldn't help but ask; "Why are you looking at me like that?" towards the onyx-haired boy.

"...Nothing..." The boy grunted out and turned away.

'Well that doesn't sound like nothing, Sasuke...' Naruto thought sarcastically as he raised his eyebrows, but he chose not to pry further.

Looking around discreetly without turning his head around so much, he could see that the class' attention is devoted solely to him, most boys are scrunching their eyebrows together, trying to figure out who he is, while most girls began to swoon over his good-looking face, while also realizing that he is somewhat familiar.

He looked towards one of his friends, Shikamaru Nara, who is apparently sleeping, and as such, he doesn't even notice him arriving...

Kiba Inuzuka and Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru's friends, who is also Naruto's acquaintances by proxy, also looked at him with mild curiosity and wonderment.

'...This is kind of amusing, actually...'

Suddenly...

The door was opened, and there were two girls who had apparently fought to get here first, and even though he, along with some kids that saw what happened knew that the pink-haired one lost to the pale blonde one by a miniscule margin, he decided to keep silent.

He saw as the pale blonde relented after losing at a Jankenpon, and prompted the pink one to cheer, Naruto shook his head, knowing what would come next.

She comes over to him, who is sitting besides Sasuke Uchiha, who he knows to be her crush. She stopped and faintly gawked when she looked at him, but quickly composed herself as she smiles and politely asks him; "Excuse me, but do you mind giving this chair to me? I want to sit here."

Naruto turned his head towards the girl whose hair is colored like a certain tree that blossoms in the spring, "For what reason do you want to sit here?" Naruto asked with mock confused tone.

Sakura, not realizing the mock tone, continues with; "I want to sit besides Sasuke-kun, after all, I won my fight against Ino-Buta(Pig), so it is only right that I take this place."

Naruto's mouth twitched upward, he used to have a crush for this girl... but somehow, after his changes, he found that the feelings he had for her was gone for some reason and what he used to consider as annoying -such as her devotion to Sasuke Uchiha-, he now finds it as amusing.

Not saying that he didn't appreciate or dislike it though...

Calmly, Naruto turned to Sasuke, "Hey," he called, prompting the onyx-haired boy to look at him, and Naruto continues; "Do you want me to let her sits beside you?"

Sasuke's eyebrows rises faintly in response to the question, and after a few seconds of silence, he answered with a simple; "No."

Sakura's eyes widened as Naruto turned to her with a badly-repressed smile that shows his amusement, "I would like to give this chair to you... but... I believe I have no power over this matter, he's the boss you see, whatever he says, goes." said Naruto as he points his finger towards Sasuke.

The onyx haired boy looked at the blonde young man in small confusion, but eventually, he procured an amused smirk.

As the class began to snicker, one of the most prolific of them being Ino Yamanaka, the blonde girl that she 'fought' before, Sakura stuttered out; "B-but, Sasuke-kun, I..."

Whatever she was about to say was stopped when a man with a horizontal-shaped scar trailing from his cheek to the other cheek and passing the bridge of his nose went inside.

Naruto and him saw each other for a few seconds, Iruka's eyes widened a fraction due to the boy's changes, but he shook his head to quickly get rid of the surprise, opting to talk to him about it later, either with him, or the Hokage himself, for not telling him that the boy had changed so much over the past few days.

Though it was not needed to say that Iruka is relieved that he returned just in time, and in one piece.

"Alright class, everybody take a seat, I will announce your teams. And anybody who wants to protest about the roster can take this up with the Hokage, because he's the one that made it." said Iruka with quite a loud volume.

Sakura begrudgingly took the seat on Naruto's right side, two chairs away from Sasuke, her expression is between anger to the blonde young man, and sadness because of what the raven-haired boy had said so coldly.

Iruka quickly and efficiently said the names of the teams, and as Naruto observes, there were some happy and hopeful faces, and some disappointed and dejected faces from being in the same team with one or two of their friends, or separated from the kids that he had associated for the past years respectively.

"Team 7, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke..."

"YES!" exclaimed the pink-haired girl.

"...And... Uzumaki Naruto. Your sensei is Hatake Kakashi." Iruka said. Prompting the other kids to become confused, particularly Sasuke, Sakura, and Shikamaru, who had woken up thanks to Iruka's arrival.

"A-ano..." said a certain meek girl with bluish violet hair and a set of pale eyes as she lifts her hand, "But... I thought that... Na-, Uzumaki-kun..." she corrected herself, "...didn't pass the test...?"

Iruka smiled and said; "He did pass a test, though not the formal test that you participated in, let's just say that it was a test that showed his ability as a Ninja, Hokage-sama even acknowledged it himself."

"What is this test?" Asked Shikamaru.

"It is a _secret _test, it was something that he had taken for himself, and he got the acknowledgement of Hiruzen-sama because of it." said Iruka.

"But where is he now?" asked Inuzuka Kiba.

"_He... _Is right here." revealed Naruto.

It took the whole class a whole two seconds before they go...

**"WHAT?"** As the sudden realization hit them like a ton of bricks.

And it took them another second to mob him and began asking questions.

But before it could get to the point where he is overwhelmed, Iruka yelled; "Everybody, Sit Down!"

Which they did, begrudgingly as well.

"Now, I know that he has changed a lot, but that's not a reason to just attack him like you were doing. Show some restraint!" Iruka ordered, and after taking a few moments of silence, he continues with; "I'm going to read the rest of the roster, if you want to ask questions about him, ask him directly and politely."

As Iruka read the last of the rosters, Sasuke turned to Naruto and asked; "What happened to you dobe?" with an interested tone of voice.

Naruto merely smiled and said; "You'll have plenty of time to ask me, we're teammates after all, right?"

Sasuke grunted "...Hn." and turned, getting the hint of what Naruto said.

Naruto just shook his head as he smiled, it's somewhat funny that he now finds Sasuke's behavior that got to his nerves before as amusing. 'Though he gets the hint to ask at a later time, at least he's not as stupid as I once thought he was.' he thought.

"Team 10, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Yamanaka Ino. Your sensei is Sarutobi Asuma." Iruka said, "And that's all the teams, and here are your teachers."

When they entered, Naruto noticed two person that stands out the most, a woman with black hair and crimson eyes, and a bearded man with a burning cigarette on his mouth.

Slowly but surely, all of the kids left with their teams and their sensei, leaving Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, along with Iruka who went to Naruto and asked; "Now that's over with, mind telling me what exactly happened? When I last saw you, you were... bleeding, before you..." he trailed off.

Naruto smiled and said; "Lots of things happened, but let's just say that it's..." Naruto trailed off and with his telekinesis power focused on his right index finger, he carved a word on the wooden table he occupies, and the words were...

'A Secret.'

His smile seems to widen at Iruka's befuddled look, but it slowly turned to chuckles before it turned into a full-blown laugh, "Naruto, you have got to tell me the story over ramen."

"I think Jiji owes you that one, after all, judging from your face, he didn't tell the whole story now did he?" Naruto replied. "But I'll take the offer when I'm free."

Iruka patted his shoulder and said; "Well, best of luck to you Naruto, I'm glad you're alright."

"Thanks." Naruto replied with a smile.

And with that, Iruka left the room to the three teammates waiting for their teacher.

Sasuke turned his chair towards Naruto and said; "So, do you mind me asking what exactly happened to you now?"

Naruto responded with; "Patience is not one of your virtues isn't it?" he asked rhetorically, "I thought with dealing with Sakura and Ino and the rest of your fangirls pestering you all the time would give you some kind of patience."

"Hey! I resent that remark!" Sakura yelled, "Besides, you're one to talk Naruto, you always annoy me all the time. Who gives you the right to say that I'm annoying to Sasuke-kun? He doesn't mind, right Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke looked at Sakura with a deadpan expression before he turned to Naruto "...I think you may have a point..."

"See? He doesn't-"

"_What __I meant was..._" Sasuke emphasized to Sakura to correct her misunderstanding, "That I _may_ have developed a shred of patience after dealing with you and Ino, considering that now I don't have the desire to pull all my hair until I'm bald."

Sakura was rendered speechless, however, whatever she's about to say was cut off when Naruto replied; "Then I thought you would've waited a little longer before you asked."

"We are sitting in an empty room, waiting for our sensei who appeared to be late, this is as good of a time as any." Sasuke rebutted.

Naruto gave him a lopsided smile and said; "Point taken..." then he continues with... "Let me start with..."

But before Naruto could say anything, they were interrupted when a man with silver hair that seems to defy gravity and a mask that hides nearly his whole face except for his right eye entered the room.

The man carried a book on his pocket, and judging by how his right eye seems to frown, he is not really in a good mood.

After he observed Naruto and the others for a couple of seconds, he says; "My first impression of you... are as follows..." he pointed at Sakura, "Bubblegum Cheerleader." then at Sasuke, "Scowly McConstipating." ignoring Sasuke's eye twitch, he pointed to Naruto and said; "...Mr. Hidden Depths."

Ignoring the fuming Sakura, the angry Sasuke and a confused Naruto, he continues with; "My name is Kakashi Hatake, and I'm in a bad mood. Meet me at the rooftop." he said before he shunshined out of the room.

"What's his problem?" Asked the irritated Sakura.

Sasuke's response is to stood up and goes towards the door, Sakura followed him shortly after.

In his anger, he forgot to check upon Naruto and only realized it when he was at the door, but when he turned around, he was gone.

And the large window near his previous position was opened...

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

"Well, now that's new." was Kakashi's remark about Naruto's fast flight to get the rooftop that he saw.

"...You're not surprised that I can fly?" Naruto asked Kakashi.

In response he said; "I've been briefed by Hokage-sama about you, he didn't mention that you could fly of course, but I wouldn't put it past you if you're able to move things with your mind, and it was he that ordered me to not be late, or, at least _too _late, lest... something bad... would happen."

"Oh, so that's why you were rude to us. You were coerced." said Naruto.

"Yes," Kakashi answered succinctly, "Though it doesn't change my first impression of you and your teammates."

Naruto smirked, "Well, it was a bit blunt in my opinion. Most people don't like that."

Kakashi merely shrugged, "Well I'm not here to make nice all the time now am I?"

The blonde young man chuckled. "True..."

The scarecrow look-a-like man looked at Naruto, 'Hm... last I saw him, he's not this tall, not to mention as calm as this... I guess what Hokage-sama said is true...'

'Though...' he continues his line of thought, 'He does look a lot like him now that he's transformed... hm, it's only a matter of time before they realize who you really are Naruto...'

A couple of seconds later, the other two team members came, and Sasuke was surprised when he saw Naruto arrived first.

"How did you do that?" asked the onyx-haired boy.

"Do what?" Naruto innocently asked.

"Getting here before us, I didn't even see you went past us."

Naruto merely answered; "Well, then that means I didn't use the way you were using, now did I?"

"...What?"

In order to prevent another question, Kakashi clapped his hand once, "Alright, you can socialize later on, but for now, I want you three to sit down."

The three of them complied as they sat in front of Kakashi, who is still standing.

"I'll go first. My name is Hatake Kakashi, what I like to do is to read books, particularly those which are made by Jiraiya-sama. What I dislike is... someone who abandoned their friends, especially if they try to rationalize it by saying 'It's for the mission's sake' or something akin to that effect. And my dreams are my own concern and not yours. Your turn." Kakashi finished as he points at Naruto.

Naruto smirked and cleared his throat before he answered; "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like a lot of things, such as ramen. And there are things that I hate, like those who view themselves above others because of his ego and not his skills. My dream is to become as strong as I could be to achieve great things, and to help those in need."

Kakashi smiled under his mask as he nods, while besides Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke looked surprised with Naruto's calm demeanor.

Then the silver-haired jounin turned to Sakura, "Next is you, cheerleader."

Sakura looked rather offended when he called her that, but she goes to say; "My name is Haruno Sakura... what I like is..." she looked at Sasuke and giggled, "My dream is to..." at this, she giggled again, "And... I hate Naruto baka." she finished as she turned to Naruto, expecting him to look dejected.

To her annoyance, she found Naruto shrugging, showing that he doesn't really care.

Kakashi sighed audibly, but he turned to Sasuke and said; "Finally, you."

Sasuke grunted with the familiar 'Hn.', and responded with; "My name is Uchiha Sasuke, I don't have any particular thing that I like and I have my share of things that I do hate. And my dream is... well, my purpose... is to revive my clan's past glory... and to kill a certain man..."

The reactions were varied, Sakura looks somewhat aghast, Kakashi looked at him with an expression akin to pity, and Naruto looks... curious.

Kakashi coughed to get their attention to him again, "Well, now that the introduction is over, let me tell you what we're going to do."

"At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, meet me at Training Ground number 7, and we will begin our test."

"Test?" asked Sakura, "But... I thought we're already took the test?"

"It was an initiation to see if you have the potential, the test that we're going to do will determine whether or not you are actually capable of using your potential in a situation akin to what a real Shinobi would experience in the outside world."

"So, prepare yourself accordingly in the meantime, I'll be at our rendezvous point a couple of hours from now." Kakashi said before he did a handseal and shunshined away from the proximity.

When their teacher is gone, Sasuke is the first one to stood, Sakura followed suit, and began to ask him to go to a date with her.

Which he... unsurprisingly, rejected.

But then Naruto called to Sasuke, "Hey Sasuke!" to which he turned, "Still interested in knowing what happened to me?"

Sasuke was silent for a couple of seconds before he asked back; "Are you going to tell me?"

Naruto smirked, "If you're interested in ramen. Meet me at a place called Ichiraku Ramen, we'll talk there." he said before he jumped to the ground.

Sasuke's eyes widened along with Sakura's, they ran towards where Naruto jumped, and when they saw him, he looked no worse for wear and walking away without even a limp.

He frowned, 'Hn... what exactly happened to the dobe?' wondered Sasuke.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

True to what he said, Sasuke found Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen, already eating his bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen.

The blonde boy gulped before he greeted him, "So you came Sasuke, ...along with Sakura as well, I might add.."

When Sasuke opted to go to the Ichiraku Ramen, Sakura followed him as well, half out of interest in the blonde boy's ability, and half out of wanting to follow 'her Sasuke-kun'.

"Well she followed me, am I supposed to say no?" Sasuke asked as he sat down.

Naruto shrugged, "I see no harm in it, sit wherever you like Sakura, though I assume that it would be right besides him." he said as he points to Sasuke.

Sakura doesn't need to say anything to confirm it as she instantly sits down on the stool right besides Sasuke. Though she does look a little sheepish.

Naruto just chuckled, 'So predictable...' "What do you guys want here? I'll pay."

Sasuke responded, "I came here because you said you want to tell me what happened, not to eat. Besides, I'm not hungry."

**"(Grooooowl...)"**

...It was the sound of Sasuke's stomach, which prompted Naruto to chuckle again, Sasuke to blush in embarrassment, and Sakura to stifle her oncoming giggle.

"Well your body's honest at the very least, now I'll ask you again, what do you want to eat?"

"...Just give me what you're having..." Sasuke grumbled out in his embarrassment.

Naruto nods, "And you, Sakura?"

Sakura cleared her throat before she said, "A bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen like what you have would be good."

"Teuchi-san, Ayame-san. two more Tonkotsu Ramen for my friends please."

Teuchi nodded as he grinned, "Right away Naruto!"

As Teuchi and his daughter Ayame goes to prepare Sasuke and Sakura's orders, Naruto turned to the onyx-haired boy and said; "Well, since you came here and all, I guess I do owe you a story to tell..."

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

"And... that's my story." Naruto finished the story of what happened to him over their meal, his story took quite a while as Naruto was just finished and their meals were already finished long before, he told the story with leaving out the part of Kyuubi of course, again. To which the fox agreed for the second time, it's just not something to tell to those his age that don't know a thing about the truth of the matter.

And the fox also mentioned that he doesn't like the Uchiha, he could feel hatred and anger seeping through his aura.

Also, Naruto could feel another emotion coming from within himself, the mysterious source are still unknown, but it pities Sasuke, and laments that he had become a person full of hatred.

He told the story as vague as he could be, he didn't specify what his power is, how powerful he is currently or will be, or how could the Crystal changed his body so much and turned his personality to a near 180 degrees from his previous one.

All he told them was that he was involved in a case with Mizuki that set a chain reaction due to a Crystal, and was forced to leave and recuperate outside of Konoha for a few days, along with training his newfound ability.

"...So, you mean to tell us that right now, you are... what? A special case of a Shinobi?" asked Sasuke.

"You could say that, though if you want me to show you, wait until Kakashi gave the test, trust me on that." said Naruto.

"But why should we believe what you say about your... new ability? I mean, I can see the difference in your body and personality now, but... it does seems a bit far-fetched." responded Sakura.

Naruto answered with; "I changed from a scrawny little boy who is a bit shorter than you within three days time, it's not that far off to believe me being empowered by some kind of a special rock." 'Though I didn't tell you guys the whole story, so it's understandable why you don't fully believe it.'

"By the way, what time is it right now Teuchi-san?" asked Naruto to Teuchi.

"It's fifty-five minutes past twelve, Naruto." answered Teuchi.

Naruto stood up and paid the amount of Ryou needed for the meal for three, though it was a bit more than was necessary, "Keep the change old man." Naruto said, to which Teuchi are grateful.

He then turned to Sasuke and Sakura and said, "I'll meet you at the Training Ground 7 Sasuke, Sakura."

"See you soon Naruto!" Ayame called from the back of the kitchen.

"Will do Ayame." Naruto said with a smile.

...And Sakura noticed that when he smiled at her, the ramen chef's daughter blushed, '...Wait...don't tell me she's...'

But it seems that the blonde boy didn't notice that. So, Naruto walked out of the Ramen stand, but Sasuke wanted to know more, and so, he walked out as well, "Wait, Naruto!"

...But he was already gone.

'What the...?' Sasuke thought as he looked to his sides, and not finding the enigmatic blonde anywhere.

However, he never looked up, if he did, he would be seeing the amused face of Uzumaki Naruto that looked down to him before he flew away.

'Damn it! How does he do that? Is that his ability?' the onyx-haired boy thought.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Sasuke and Sakura arrived on the Training Ground 7 shortly after Naruto's abrupt departure.

To their surprise, they found the blonde boy already sitting beneath a tree, waving to them as they arrived.

"Alright, how the hell did you do this?" Sasuke asked with an irritated tone.

"Do what?" Naruto still asked back with an innocent tone.

"Grr! You-!"

But before Sasuke could do anything to the boy whose collar he just grabbed out of irritation, the figure of Kakashi appeared at the training ground, exactly at the appointed time.

"Yo." He greeted nonchalantly.

"Hey." Naruto greeted back jovially, despite the slight discomfort of being hold on his collar, "You arrived on time now."

In response, Kakashi sighed, "Of course I arrived on time, do you expect me not to?"

Naruto chuckled, "I guess considering the fact that you're being coerced with something bad will give you some incentive I guess."

The scarecrow-looking man merely ignore the jab and says; "Well, now that you're here, why don't we start the test." Kakashi said, prompting Sasuke to lose his grip on Naruto's shirt.

After that, Kakashi walked farther away from his three students before he turned to them again...

...And waited...

A tense awkward feeling enveloped the training ground before Sakura asked, "Um... what is the test, Kakashi-sensei?"

"...Hm? Oh yes, forgot to mention that." Kakashi said, prompting the other three to sweatdrop.

"Really? You didn't remember that you never told us what exactly the test is?" Sasuke asked.

"Well forgive me ne? It slipped my mind, but here... is your objective for the test."

Kakashi brought out three bells from his flak jacket and said; "Kill me, and retrieve these bells from my corpse."

...

End.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Alright, Naruto's adventure continues, this time, as a Konoha Genin, though he and his team still needs to pass Kakashi's test...

And no, the three bells and Kakashi's orders are not mistaken, I wrote it as I intended it.

See you at the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 4: The Revelation

**DISCLAIMER: **Still don't own the original sources of my fanfictions, including Naruto. And I never expect anything to change so easily either.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4:The Revelation... And the oncoming Battle.<br>**

* * *

><p>"K-Kill you?" Sakura asked about Kakashi's order with a stammer.<p>

In response, Kakashi said nonchalantly; "Yes, kill me. Or, at the very least, try to, and retrieve these bells, with everything that you have in your arsenal."

"Now, I will give you a breather, two to five minutes of time, in that time, you three will discuss with your teammates on how these bells would be taken, and afterwards, you execute the plan. Got it?" Kakashi asked.

"B-But-" Sakura's protest was cut off by Sasuke who brought his hand in front of her face.

"Got it." The onyx-haired boy answered seriously.

The blonde young man's answer was in the same line of Sasuke's, "Sure, this will be interesting." he said as he grinned.

"Very well then..." Kakashi said, "Now go!" the scarecrow ordered.

With that, the three teens vanished into the surrounding trees.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

On the other side of the Training Ground 7 where Kakashi's test takes place, the three prospective students can be found huddling as they are discussing their plan.

"Okay, now obviously we don't want him dead." Naruto began, "He's our teacher, it's just not right for us to kill someone who hasn't trained us anything just yet, it's just not worth the effort. And this order of his can be interpreted this way: 'Come at me with everything you got and take these bells from me with any means necessary', which is really what he was saying anyway, considering his position. He was just saying that to distract our minds for a bit."

"So, with that in mind, we have to... Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked the visually bewildered Sakura and Sasuke.

"W-well, I, we, we just didn't expect that you would be this... you know, this!" Sakura said as she points her hand to him.

"...What this?" Naruto asked.

"What she's saying is that we didn't know that you have this heavily intelligent and logical side of you, it's... somewhat awe-striking, ...and scary too." Sasuke replied.

Naruto frowned at what Sasuke said, though he realized how he could be perceived as scary, considering how he used to act. "...I'm going to take that as a compliment. And if it were, I thank you for that." he said, "Can we focus at the matter at hand now?"

They nodded, prompting Naruto to continue, "As I was saying, we have to work together here, that's the whole purpose of this test. In his mind, a couple of fresh Genin such as us are not capable of bringing down an experienced Jounin just like him. So he would expect diversions and deceptions. Exactly the two things within my plan, he would see it coming, but he could not stop it from happening."

"Well, what's your plan then?" asked the somewhat curious Sasuke.

Naruto, on his part, merely smirks in response.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Kakashi looks at the watch that he possesses, 'Hm... three minutes and forty-two seconds have passed... I thought that it would be faster than this...'

Then as if on cue, someone comes out of the forest that surrounds Konoha.

"Oh, it's you Sasuke." Kakashi said to the onyx-haired boy. "I had thought that Naruto would be the first to come out..."

Sasuke merely smirks, then, he did some hand seals... which made Kakashi's eyes widen.

"Katon: Goukakyu No Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled before he spew out a giant fireball towards Kakashi's position.

Using Shunshin, Kakashi avoided the fireball and appeared in a tree nearby, he thought; 'Hm... for Sasuke to initiate up-close combat... how interesting...'

...!

Feeling an undeniably powerful killing intent, Kakashi turned back, and saw the form of the attacking Naruto.

He tried to use Shunshin, only for his arm to be grabbed by the blonde boy, therefore, disabling any further movement he could've made...

Then Naruto cocked his free hand and points the opened palm towards Kakashi, afterwards, he thrust it forward...

...And created a massive kinetic force that destroyed parts of the surrounding trees, and sends Kakashi flying at breakneck speed.

The kinetic force was powerful enough to paralyze Kakashi as he goes flying without even having a semblance of control over his body due to the speed of the 'Push'.

But his control came back at the very last moment as he quickly made a handseal and Shunshin'd out of harm's way.

He teleported to the middle of the training ground, and he used the few seconds that he had to recuperate quickly...

...And moments later, he saw himself in the middle of Naruto's kicking trajectory.

Kakashi pulled out his kunai and blocked the amazingly strong kick, though in turn, the kunai cracked and Kakashi was forced to take a step back...

...And when he got a full vision of Naruto, he found the blonde young man, floating in the air, as if unshackled by gravity.

The blonde smiled rather cockily to Kakashi, and in turn, the scarecrow said; "Well... it seems that you can indeed fly."

Naruto chuckled, "Do you really have to state the obvious?" he said before he flew towards Kakashi in a frightening speed.

This time, Kakashi is already prepared, he drew another kunai and equipped it to his other hand, the dual-wielding style of weapon combat that is well-suited for a combatant who is proficient in a fast and agile style of fighting.

'Just in case...' Kakashi thought before he charged to the flying figure of Naruto.

The sound of clanged kunai and the beautiful sight of the two warriors battling with their unique styles are the treat for Sasuke and Sakura's eyes.

Naruto's style of fighting was exquisitely unique, due to his ability to fly, Naruto's foot is not rooted to the ground and he is able to use his body to fight in a way that wouldn't be possible for a normal human that couldn't fly. The blonde young man is twirling in nearly every direction, and in doing so, he is barraging Kakashi with his powerful punches and kicks that are nigh-unpredictable due to the erratic movements that he uses.

However, despite Kakashi's status as a normal human being, he is able to withstand his ground using his double kunai style, and despite having only one eye, Kakashi was able to predict nearly all of Naruto's attacks, even so, he could barely avoid them all with his speed.

But, all of this can only be seen by an experienced combatant...

So in the perspective of Sasuke and Sakura who never have seen or participated in a dangerous fight, their movements are near-invisible due to the alarming velocity of their movements.

And so, they could only sit still and watch... with mouth agape.

When Naruto stopped his barrage of attacks, Kakashi jumped backwards, in mid-air, he did some handseals before he outstretched his arm and said; "Raiju Hashiri no Jutsu."

From his outstretched hand, Kakashi summoned a spectral dog made out of lightning that charged towards Naruto.

Seeing this, Naruto thought, 'Well, he's not beating around the bush isn't he?', before he smirks and outstretched both his arms to his sides.

"Bring it!"

As if responding to his boast, the beast made of electricity comes forth...

It hits Naruto right in his chest, and exploded in a bright blue sparks.

But despite the attack, any indication of wound that can be seen on Naruto's body is non-existent. But his face shows that he _does _feel some pain...

And there are blue lights that flickers around him and on his skin, an effect of the lightning jutsu.

Kakashi's eyes widened at what Naruto did, 'Damn it! I didn't know that he would take it head on!' he thought.

But his worry for the blonde young man fades as he grinned...

"Hey guys!" he exclaimed, "Get as far away as you can and get to higher ground! You might get hurt if you don't!"

Shortly after his order, Naruto jumped 12 feet high from the ground and with a little grunt...

...He delivered a drop punch attack...

...That destroyed a large part of the ground and sends forth a kinetic shockwave that expands its wave of destruction from where Naruto hits the ground.

'Shit!' Kakashi swore, he narrowly managed to avoid the shockwave... which is a good thing, considering how the trees nearby were destroyed by the kinetic wave that Naruto created.

After Kakashi managed to take a breather for a couple of seconds following the wake of the shockwave, he followed his instincts and jumped back again.

Because afterwards, Naruto planted another drop attack that created a crater on the ground that he had stomped on with his foot.

By using the foot that he used to stomp the ground, Naruto dashed towards Kakashi, and managed to punch him...

Only for a log to appear in his place after a poof of smoke.

'...Kawarimi no Jutsu... should've known...' Naruto thought before a Kunai was placed placed on his jugular from the scarecrow look-a-like who managed to get on his back.

Seeing the still figure of Naruto, Kakashi asked; "...Yield?"

Naruto merely grinned, which would somewhat unnerve Kakashi if he were able to see it, "Sure, got what I was ordered to do anyway."

Kakashi's eyes widened, he immediately let go of Naruto and checked the bells that he had put in his pocket...

...But instead of an empty pocket, he found the bells, still intact.

He sighed in relief and was about to retort, but when Kakashi saw that Naruto is still grinning, he then realized something '...It can't be...!' he then smashed the bells with his palm, and his fear was proven true when it was destroyed... and created a puff of smoke.

"...It was a Kage Bunshin that had been Henge'd..." Kakashi muttered.

Naruto grinned as he said; "Indeed, the real one is now in the hands of Sakura, and I'm sure I do not need to explain _when _I took it from you."

Kakashi chuckled and says; "No I do not." he answered as Naruto gestured his teammates to come out, Sasuke looks rather satisfied as he smirks while Sakura grinned as she held the bell proudly for Kakashi to see.

"Well... it seems that you do not need to be told what the true purpose of the test." Kakashi said.

The three nodded, "Your order is just a fluke, 'kill me' means that we have to attack you with all we have. Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, or something other than those three to see our capabilities." Naruto said.

"And what you really want for us to do is to find other means to get the bells from you, seeing that we are just newly-made genin and you are a Jounin." Sasuke continued.

"And so, the true purpose of the test is for us three to concoct a plan, not to defeat you, but to get the items that you asked us to get." Sakura finished.

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask, 'Well... it seems that two out of three of them _are _indeed Shinobi materials... they just need someone to guide them...' he thought rather satisfactorily.

The silver-haired man then clapped once, "Then it's official: We are now Team 7."

Naruto smiled along with Sasuke, and Sakura laughed triumphantly as she jumped in celebration.

"You guys passed the test. But let me say this first..." Kakashi said as he extend his index finger, "It does not get easier from here, so I expect you to be surprised if I ever give you some rudimentary training once in a while."

But then, he put down his hand and his expression relaxes, "But, we will do some training in conjunction of some missions as well, to get you familiar with how the Shinobi system works. And while I may be somewhat lenient most of the times, when I turned serious I expect you to do the same, got it?"

The three nodded, Naruto with a smile of satisfaction of his discovery that Kakashi is quite likeable, Sasuke with a smirk of acceptance out of Kakashi's competence as his teacher, and Sakura with a serious nod as she acknowledged Kakashi's statement.

"Very well, for now, Team 7 are dismissed, I'll see you at this training ground again at nine o'clock tomorrow." Kakashi said.

He turned back from them and began to walk away, but midway, he stopped and turn, his visible eye closed, making his expression looked rather apologetic; "Ah, but you will forgive me if I arrive rather late. I have... some works that needs doing."

Then, in order to avoid further questions, he used Shunshin to leave.

"...Well, I've no doubt that he'll be late." Naruto instantly commented, "But, regarding today's works, I'd say it's quite satisfactory."

Sasuke smirked, but Sakura's expression shows that she is rather bewildered, "Yeah... but, that power you have... it's... really amazing." she started, "I mean... you could fly for heaven's sake! That alone really surprised me!"

"Hn..." Sasuke grunted out, "...But...wait... come to think of it... that's how you disappeared all the time, isn't it?" he asked, "You flew away, that's how you got to the roof faster than we do, and that's why you suddenly disappeared from that ramen place and got here before us."

Naruto merely smiled and shrugged, "Well, I'll let you be the judge of that. As for me, I'll go back to my house, see you tomorrow morning yeah?"

"Wai-"

Before both of his teammates could ask anything further, he tilted his head upward, and flew away. Leaving Sakura and Sasuke alone again.

Sasuke merely shook his head and clicked his tongue as Sakura's gaze is still locked upon the sky where Naruto flew onto.

'The dobe's certainly got interesting... I wonder how I would fare against him in the future...' Sasuke thought before he smiled, 'Huh, never felt this excited before... not since...'

Sasuke closed his eyes as the memory of a certain someone that he once loved and and wants to overcome returned to his mind, along with the pain that comes along with the memory of him... '...Since that time...'

Shaking his head to shut the morbid memory down yet still keeping the exalting feeling intact, Sasuke walked away from Sakura, who is still staring the sky in befuddlement.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Naruto landed in front of his apartment in such a short time from the training ground due to the velocity of his flight.

But instead of going into his own room, he went to the room reserved for the landlord of the place...

Or, to be more precise, the room reserved for the landlady...

He knocked on the door rather softly as he said, "Excuse me, might I bother you for a couple of minutes?"

After a couple of seconds, a voice from inside the room replied: _"Who is it?"_

"It's me, Naruto."

After the sound of someone walking towards the door while stumbling upon many things that ended up falling, the door was finally opened, and a light brown haired woman of thirty-seven years of age but yet still keeps her physical youth at it's prime condition came out of the door.

Her stern gaze locked to the young man that claim himself as Naruto, and after noticing the unmistakable traits that the boy has she goes to ask: "...What the hell happened to you, kid?"

"Long story Eri-san." Naruto said to hold off further questions, "I'm just here to ask for a spare key to my apartment."

"You lost it?" she asked, to which he nods, "Are you able to retrieve it?"

Naruto's expression turned sheepish as he said: "I'm afraid not."

She sighed and shook her head, "Let me just get it..." she said before she closed the door and went to get the key.

...

After awhile, she came out with the key to his apartment, she gave it to him and said: "Don't lose it again, alright?"

"Alright, tha-" he was cut off when she closed the door without even bothering to hear his thanks.

**"...Still as grumpy as ever isn't she?" **asked the familiar vulpine Bijuu.

'Still.' Naruto answered as he jumped to the second floor to reach his apartment room.

He unlocked the door and entered the room using the key that was given by Eri instead of his telekinesis.

When he entered, he instantly locked the door again and sat down on his sofa and closes his eyes to enter his psyche...

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

**"I guess you want to talk about that dream.." **Kurama stated.

Naruto merely nodded, prompting Kurama to continue by showing the vision that Naruto saw, **"This memory, is it _exactly_ like this?"  
><strong>

"Yeah." Naruto answered, "But instead of just physically being in his shoes, I was... him, I... he, his mind, was mine, and I... he, he felt... anger... towards someone... who took two people that are... were... important to him..."

**"...This particular memory," **Kurama began after a few moments of silence, **"Is almost at the same point of time when I arrived at Konoha."**

"...What is he doing outside of Konoha then? I assume that he would've heard the report of your coming and be at the village to plan a strategy, why isn't he at the village?" Naruto asked.

**'...I think it's time Kushina.'** Kurama relayed the thought to the _other _inhabitant within Naruto's psyche...

'No...! It's not-'

**'This memory is as close as the one you want him to experience, let me do the explanation.'**

'...But...'

**'This is for your own good, Kushina. No matter how brave you think you are, your recent behavior shows how uncertain you are, like always, you need a little push.' **Kurama said before he used a little bit of his power to prevent her from manifesting herself.

** 'Oh, and this is for the time that you chained me in your psyche for several months!'**

'...Wait a minute! that was your own fault! You took control of my body without my consent when Minato and I were having sex, he had to be treated by Tsunade for a couple of weeks afterward!'

**'You should be thankful for that, because from my observations of your previous sexual endeavors with him before that time, I found that Minato didn't have a strong enough seed to impregnate you, and through my help, your son was conceived by that act.' **

'...WHAT?!' Kushina all but yelled through their link**  
><strong>

**'I'll give you more information later and you can yell all you want then, but for now, this needs to be done.'**

'YOU BAS-!'

And with that, Kurama fully turned off their link.

Kurama turned to Naruto who didn't even notice the mental conversation because of how relatively fast it was from the blonde's perspective and said,** "To fully understand this, we have to start at the beginning..."**

Kurama then summoned another veil that shows a memory of Yondaime that Naruto had never seen before, one that shows him and the red-headed girl that he saw back then, all grown up and... married, as it looks like.

"...That girl became his wife huh?" Naruto asked.

**"Indeed, I believe you've seen her before, she was the kunoichi that he rescued from a kidnap attempt made by Kumogakure, her name is Kushina Uzumaki."  
><strong>

"...No wonder Kumogakure kidnapped her then." Naruto stated, immediately realizing that the red-haired woman was Kurama's Jinchuuriki, "What's her relation to me anyway? ...Because she seems so... familiar to me... though it might be because of _his _memories..."

Kurama decided to be blunt and said: **"That's because she's your mother Kit."**

"..." Naruto went silent for a couple of seconds, his expression went to shock before it turned into contemplation, and then understanding, "Then unless she cheated with another man, that would make Minato Namikaze my father." he stated.

Kurama couldn't help but to smirk at Naruto's morbidly amusing little joke, **"True, he was your father, the memory that you saw was when he went to save his wife, and you..."**

"From who?" Naruto asked.

In response, Kurama summoned another veil that shows the memory that Naruto saw.

**"From a man who claimed himself as Uchiha Madara." **

...

The veil shows the events that happened after Minato gathered his equipment before he goes towards a particular area in the forest surrounding Konoha.

Towards his wife, along with her newborn baby.

Naruto watched as Minato found his wife, bound by the man wearing a mask that only shows his right eye that has Sharingan who intends to do something to her.

He interrupted whatever it was that the masked man was doing and battled him again, but after awhile, something happened that stopped them.

Kurama was released from Kushina, and with the masked man's escape, Minato turned to Kurama to prevent him from arriving to Konoha...

That ended up with the death of him, and his wife, and a sealed Bijuu within a certain blonde-haired baby...

...

After the veil finished showing the whole event of Kurama's release, Naruto's expression turned rather morose, he put his hands on the pocket of his trousers and his head leaned a bit downward, not unlike a figure of someone watching a tomb on the ground in front of him.

"...I guess... they sacrificed themselves for me huh?" Naruto began, his voice is masked, not showing the least bit of emotion, "Something that every parent would do... even in that situation..."

**"...They did." **Kurama said, **"If there were any other way, they would never put me within you, they loved you too much to see this as the best option had there were any alternative solutions."**

Naruto nodded as a response, then he asked, "What happened afterwards?"

**"You were found by the old coot, and at that moment, he created the rule that forbids those who know of your Jinchuuriki status to reveal it to you. A stupid law, if I have to say." **Kurama remarked. **"But then again, the old monkey put the safety of the whole village first, the needs of the few outweighs the needs of one, as they say."**

"I guess that's true..." was Naruto's dry response before he sighed, "...Well, at least now I know my parents, what kind of people they were... I'm just glad that they're not a bad person like some ignorant people in the village said." he said with a hardened tone.

**"...Kit..."**

"I'm fine, Kurama, I am." Naruto lied.

**"You're not." **Kurama stated bluntly, **"I can see through your lies, Naruto. You are _not_ fine."**

Naruto merely stood in silence for a couple of seconds before he said, "...Should've realized that you would know when I'm lying..." he dryly said, "You're right, I'm not alright Kurama, I'm... angry... sad..." he trailed off before he sighed again, "...I don't know _what _I'm feeling..."

It was silent for some moments before Naruto said, "Would feel better if I could enter that memory and punch that masked bastard's face though..." he remarked.

Kurama smirked faintly at Naruto's little remark, then the blonde-haired young man said, "Well... at least that clears up what that little dream's all about... but I assume that the memories will keep manifesting?"

**"Yes." **Kurama answered, **"Though instead of just seeing what he was seeing, you will _be _him in the visions, that's the indication that your amalgamation process with his doppelganger is almost complete."**

Naruto shrugged, "Well, at least that means all of this will be over in the near future..." he said, "Thanks for this Kurama, this was really helpful."

He was about to leave when Kurama said, **"Wait."**, and made Naruto turn towards the Bijuu with a quizzical look while the said Bijuu's expression was somewhat unreadable, but Naruto could identify it as somewhat... mischievous... **"There's a couple of things that you need to know..."  
><strong>

Naruto's expression turned to curiosity, prompting Kurama to instantly continue, **"One, it is just my opinion, but that masked man's aura felt... different than Madara Uchiha's, though I'm not saying that he is _not _him, it's a little strange thing that you might want to know."  
><strong>

"Hm..." Naruto hummed as he digests Kurama's information, "Alright, what else do you want to speak about?"

This time, Kurama visibly grinned, **"This time, it's not me who wants to speak, it's someone else."**

Then the fox-like Bijuu was suddenly restrained by humongous chains that materialized from where it was standing, Kurama struggled for a minute before the chain pulled him down and disabling his ability to stand on his feet.

**"Guh...!" **Kurama grunted beneath the pressure, **"Not this again...! Do you _really _need to do this?" **Kurama asked not to Naruto, which confuses him for a moment.

"_That, _was for not telling me the truth of what happened that night you bastard!" Naruto heard a woman's yell from behind him.

He turned around and saw something that made his eyes widened... A beautiful woman with long, red-colored hair and bluish violet eyes wearing a simple orange shirt and black loose pants and a pair of green sandals.

Through Yondaime's memories, Naruto could identify the woman as Kushina Uzumaki, Yondaime's wife, his own birth mother... alive and kicking right in front of his eyes...

But her apparent anger towards Kurama seems to made her not notice her own son, Naruto also sees how... scary his mother looks when she's angry, especially when her hair is flaring wildly as if it was made out of fire.

**"Had I been given the chance, I would've gladly told you why," **Kurama defended his actions in the past while attempting to break free of the chains, to no avail, **"But no, you just straight out came towards me and chained me down, just like what you're doing now, so part of the blame is on you!"**

"But why didn't you tell me beforehand? If we had a discussion-!"

**"You won't be able to say yes!" **Kurama rebutted, **"For all your hot-headed attitude, I know you're not comfortable talking about sex, let alone agreeing to my proposal."  
><strong>

Kushina stuttered as she tries to form an answer for Kurama's rebuttal, and after a couple of seconds, she came up with: "Well...! That shouldn't have stopped you from trying!" she lamely retorted.

...Which she realized, only after a few seconds of awkward silence...

**"Well," **Kurama said to break the awkward tension, **"Do you have anything else that you want to say? If not, could you please release me? This is _very _uncomfortable, in case you've forgotten."**

In response, Kushina gritted her teeth as she blushed out of both embarrassment and irritation, and as a response, she kept binding Kurama with the chain.

**"Grr...! Still as stubborn as ever..." **Kurama growled out.

Kushina tried to regulate her breathing to calm herself, and after a few seconds, she managed to fully discard her anger, but she doesn't let go of her grudge towards Kurama's past actions... she will get some answers from him!

"Uh..."

Another familiar voice made her turn towards the speaker, and when she realized who it was, her eyes widened in grim realization...

"...Mind telling me what's that all about?" asked Naruto, clearly confused about what just happened, "All I got from that is that Kurama did something to you that made you furious. And... that it was a problem that relates to your sexual life..." he said before he went silent, "...Sometimes I hate this deduction ability of his..." Naruto muttered out loud as he rubbed his forehead.

"...Um... Uh..." Kushina mouthed out awkwardly, not really sure what to say to her son who just saw her go all gung-ho on Kurama.

Naruto sighed, "Let's just start again... this is much too awkward..." he said, "But first, could you please remove those shackles from him?" he asked his mother.

Out of embarrassment, Kushina did so, but after the Bijuu was released, she glared at him with an expression that says; 'This is not over!'

Which... just made Kurama grumble indignantly.

"Alright, now that we all have calmed down..." Naruto began, "Let's straighten things out..." he said as he walked closer to Kushina.

"...You are my mother, are you not?" Naruto asked rather formally, much to her ire.

But nevertheless, she answered with; "Yes, my son... I'm your mother."

"But I thought that you were dead." Naruto continued, "I saw what happened to you and the Yondaime... Are you _really _my mother?" he asked.

"N-Naruto." Kushina stuttered out in surprise and slight sadness, "I am. I am your mother, why do you doubt me?"

Seeing that he had unwittingly saddened his mother, Naruto sighed audibly and elaborated; "I do not doubt your identity as my mother, I've _seen _you through his memory after all, it would be insane to question it now, considering my knowledge."

Kushina was somewhat relieved, evident by her expression, and it encouraged Naruto to continue, "But what I do doubt is whether or not you're my mother or just a chakra doppelganger, like what Yondaime placed within my seal..."

**"She's the real deal, kit." **Kurama answered, **"Though what seeped into you is just a remnant of what's left of Namikaze Minato, she is not a mere doppelganger. But she was lucky enough to not be consumed by the seal's fusing with your body for whatever reason."**

"...Then... you _are _my mother... and not just some remaining fragment." Naruto muttered.

Kushina's eyes teared up as she said, "Yes, I am."

Naruto's lips slowly turned upward, elated at the fact that the woman in front of him _is _his real mother, and not just some chakra copy of her that his father had placed.

In a gesture of affection, Naruto hugs her and said; "I'm sorry for doubting you, Kaa-san." he softly spoke.

Kushina smiled as tears poured out of her eyes, "It's alright my son, it's alright..." and tighten her hold on him, as if afraid to let him go.

Watching over the reunion between mother and son is Kurama, who is content on staying silent watching his former Jinchuuriki and her son reunites with each other..

When they finally let go of each other, Naruto was the one to speak first, "It's strange..."

"What is, my son?" asked Kushina.

"...The feeling of finally knowing one's mother after so many years... elating, but saddening at the same time..." he said, "Though it does make me rather glad to finally know who you are."

Kushina smiled widely at her son's answer, "It also makes me happy, to be able to see you again... all grown up... I couldn't ask for more.."

Naruto turned to Kurama and said, "Thanks, for letting me meet her."

**"No problem Kit." **Kurama answered, **"Besides, if the decision were left to her, she would never consider herself ready."  
><strong>

"...Yes I would..." Kushina muttered near-incoherently.

Naruto softly sighed before he said, "Well... it has been nice, but I have to go... to... collect myself, you know...?"

"Of course Naruto." Kushina said, "Come back whenever you're ready..."

Naruto nodded with a smile and left the psyche.

"..." was the sound of silence between Kurama and his former Jinchuuriki, to him it was an ordinary silence, but to her...

Kushina sighed before she wiped the tears and turned to Kurama with a stern expression, "... Thank you for that, but we're still going to talk about what you did back then." Kushina said with a tone of voice which indicates that she is not taking no for an answer...

Kurama sighed rather exasperatedly, **"Fine... I guess after twelve years you deserve to know the details of what happened..."**

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

_Two days later..._

In one of the training ground reserved for the Genin teams, a certain team led by a scarecrow look-a-like Jounin is currently doing their routine training...

Though apparently, one of them seems to be missing...

The onyx-haired boy and the pink-haired girl is currently learning how to stabilize chakra flow on their soles so that they could stand on the surface of water. Sakura is having an easier time compared to him, but because of that, Kakashi ordered her to maintain it as long as she possibly can, as to see how long she could endure focusing her chakra on certain spots on her body continuously without disrupting it.

Sasuke, on the other hand, is still trying his best to make the chakra flow as perfect as possible, so far, he could only maintain it for several seconds, and even then, it was still somewhat shoddy.

Though he can understand why, as Kakashi explained, it was because compared to normal kids his age, his chakra reserves can be considered big, and therefore harder to control.

'Repetition and revision is the key.' Sasuke replayed what Kakashi said within his mind, 'The only way that I can get my chakra control a lot better is to repeat this method multiple times and fix the mistakes from the previous attempts..'

And in fact, it works, compared to the very first time, he is now doing a lot better.

Also, Sakura has been giving him some advice all the while, which makes him become better and better at controlling his chakra flow as it turns out to be working quite effectively, much to his surprise.

'Who knew that she could be informative sometimes...?' was what Sasuke thought, though he won't admit it out loud, he's somewhat thankful and impressed by some of Sakura's insight.

A couple of minutes later, another team entered the training ground, a black-haired boy with a lazy expression that seems to be permanently plastered onto his face, a... rather big-boned boy who is eating potato chips rather hungrily, and a pale blonde girl who seems to be quite confident to show her unblemished skin.

Behind them is their teacher, a smoking man with a bearded chin and spiky black hair, Asuma Sarutobi, the sensei for team 10, and the son of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Kakashi!" He greeted the scarecrow look-a-like.

"Ah, Asuma, I assume that it's time?" Kakashi asked.

"Heh, yeah. Sorry about this, usually we would use training ground number 11, but it's being used, so..."

"What's going on, Kakashi-sensei?" asked the curious Sakura who approached towards the two Jounin, "Why is Team 10 here?".

Kakashi turned to the pink-haired genin and said, "Today we'll be sharing a training schedule with them," he answered, "Since their place is being used by another team, because apparently, someone used their training ground in the dead of night and this person managed to destroy nearly everything in sight, it's currently being tended to, so he suggested that we should share."

"...I think I heard some explosions that woke me up late at night, was that... was that related to whatever happened to training ground 11?" Sakura asked Kakashi.

The man with broom-like hair merely shrugged, "Who knows?" he asked rhetorically.

"Well, regardless, here we are." Asuma said, "Let me introduce you to my students, Kakashi, this is..."

"Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi, and Yamanaka Ino." Kakashi answered, much to Asuma's surprise, "In addition of reading my team's dossier, I have also read several others, including yours, so introduction is not necessary."

Asuma chuckled as he sweatdropped, "Your paranoid attitude never changes, Kakashi..."

"It's not paranoid, it's just a good evaluation." Kakashi insisted.

...

"Psst." the pale blonde girl, Ino, whispered to Shikamaru as Asuma and Kakashi converse with each other.

"Hm...? What is it Ino?" he replied rather lazily.

"This guy is scary.." she said, "I mean he even bother to read our files! If that's not paranoid, I don't know what to call it."

"...I don't know... I kinda like what he did, this way, the introduction process is skipped entirely, nothing to complain there..." the boy with the pineapple hairdo said.

"Hehe, yeah..." agreed Choji, the... big-boned friend of Shikamaru, "I mean we already know each other from the academy, why should we be introducing ourselves to our friends?"

"...Agreed." Shikamaru answered back.

Ino sighed, but couldn't help but see Shikamaru's point, this way, the scarecrow look-a-like would know more than a thing or two about them, which would help in the training process.

Then, all of her rational thoughts halted when she saw the boy that had caught her and Sakura's eyes...

"Sasuke-kun~!" she called the Uchiha rather affectionately.

"Ino-Buta...!"

Asuma and Kakashi sighed at the sight of the two girls who are starting to fight over the onyx-haired boy.

"Sorry about Ino, she does that sometimes, whenever he's around..." Asuma apologized to Kakashi. "Before this becomes more problematic, why don't we just start our training session?"

"Sure." Kakashi answered as he shrugged.

"...But where's your other student?" Asuma said when he noticed there's only two out of three Genin that are not his.

"He's a little late." Kakashi answered, which balks Asuma, "But he'll come around, I'm expecting him to come any-"

Suddenly, the sound of the faintly whistling wind turned their attention... And what they saw was an object, a flying object to be more exact, that is coming directly to them from quite a distance.

"What is that? Is that a bird...?" Asuma said as he squints his eyes to see the object.

"...I don't think it is, sensei." Shikamaru answered, entranced by the unknown flying object as well. "It's a flying apparatus of some kind..."

Ino squinted her eyes towards the flying object before she said, "...I... I don't think that's a bird _or_ a machine.."

Their curiosity is answered when the flying object arrived at their location.

Though it did not diminish their upcoming surprise...

As the member of team 7, Naruto Uzumaki landed... well, not so gracefully, as he used his feet to slow himself, and in the process, he created a trail of destroyed soil due to the amount of force generated from his velocity.

Though from the eyes of the members of team 10, it looked quite... cool.

The blonde young man got a bit winded due to the way he landed, but he shrugged it off in a matter of seconds and looked towards his team... that is also in the company of another team.

"Naruto, arrived at last." Kakashi said as if he didn't notice the bewildered expression that Asuma and his students has, or the method that the blonde boy used to reach the training ground, "What took you so long?"

"Couldn't sleep." Naruto answered, "I've been doing a lot of training since 2 A.M. this morning, I only realized that I was supposed to be here an hour ago just now. Hence the uh... the spectacle." then he turned to team 10 and said; "How are you?" as if he didn't just enter the training ground in the flashiest way possible.

"...We- we're... we're fine... tha-thank you for asking..." Asuma answered.

"Good to know." Naruto said nonchalantly, "So, I assume we'll be having a training session with team 10?" he asked Kakashi.

Kakashi answered positively, "Yes, we are."

"Ka-Kakashi, can you explain something first?" Asuma asked as he raised his hand.

"Hm? about what Asuma?"

Asuma's left eye twitched in slight annoyance but then he said; "Oh I don't know, for starters, why don't you explain what we just saw."

"...Be specific." Kakashi stated.

It is more than obvious that Kakashi is grinning under his mask, his students also has similar reaction, Sasuke smirked faintly, Sakura is trying to hold her laughter and ended up procuring an amused giggle, while Naruto looks amused by Kakashi's attempt at riling Asuma.

Which is working, as the bearded man then said with an annoyed tone; "Kakashi... don't toy with me, how did he do... _that_?" Asuma asked as he pointed to Naruto.

"Why don't you ask him?" Kakashi suggested, "After all, he's right there, it would be rude of me to take the pleasure of explaining his powers from him."

"He's right." Sasuke added, much to the surprise of Ino and her teammates who saw him as the silent, stoic type who never adds his input to any conversation, "He doesn't mind anyway."

Asuma turned to the blonde young man who shrugged in return, "It's my ability, it's complicated to explain the whole thing, but to put it simply, it's a telekinesis power that is similar to a Bloodline Limit, except, I didn't get it from anyone in my family tree, I _might _be able to give it to my children, but I got it from an external source instead of my genetic blueprint."

"...I...see..." was the only thing that Asuma could say, "Well, let's just... start, shall we?" he said to avoid further bizarre revelations, his mind couldn't handle it if it's exposed through simple conversation alone.

"Agreed." Kakashi said.

...

* * *

><p>...<em>Moments later...<em>

'...Why did I end up with him?' was the thought that passed Ino's mind as she found herself sitting in front of the powerful blonde boy.

When Kakashi and Asuma was about to pair them with the ones they find as suitable, Naruto asked Kakashi to be paired with Ino, to talk to her about a particular thing that only she would know.

Of course, the request made Asuma and the student in question confused, but Asuma agreed, though she did so with reluctance.

_"Sorry for asking so suddenly, but I got a problem that could be solved with your insight."_ Naruto had said to her when they moved to a particular spot to talk privately.

And so, here they are, separated from the others who is currently training with the others that they've been paired with, "So... what do you want to talk about?" she started.

"I want to talk about your clan's signature jutsu, the Shintenshin no Jutsu." Naruto answered straightforwardly.

"...Why? It's not like you can learn it." she said.

"I don't want to learn it, per se." Naruto stated, "But I want to learn what you feel when you activate it, so that I can emulate a feeling similar to yours that might make my power manifest in a different way."

"...Yeah, speaking about that," Ino started, "What exactly is your power? The flying thing is... awesome, but it doesn't really explain much."

Naruto opted to give a demonstration instead of explanation.

He used his telekinesis to accelerate the wind's movement, and he directed it towards the tree nearby and cut off nearly all of the leaves from the branches, and then he extend his palm and made the wind, and along with it, the leaves, moved in a spiraling motion around his opened palm.

Ino's reaction is one of shock, as it was apparent that Naruto controlled the wind to such a degree without even making any handseals, "W-whoa...!"

"Just a little clarification, this is not aerokinesis, nor am I using any wind-related jutsu," Naruto stated, "I used my telekinesis power to 'grasp' the air around me and move it anyway I want."

"...Wow..." was what Ino said in response, "Unbelievable... this is... this is incredible, Naruto." she said before she asked, "But... what does this have to do with my clan's jutsu?"

Naruto released his hold over the surrounding air and said; "It's because I believe that my power can be manifested in a different way, similar to your jutsu, but different."

"What do you mean?"

"The purpose of your jutsu is to switch places with your enemy by overriding one's control over the body to you, in essence, you dominate the enemy's psyche with your own." Naruto explained, "I believe... that I _might_ be able to do just that."

"But... how?" she asked.

"Exactly, how." said the blonde young man, which prompted Ino to become confused, "That's why I need your insight on this, my friends and my... other acquaintances don't exactly have what you have, that is, a jutsu that allows you to control one's body by dominating his mind."

"Well... what do you want me to do?"

"Can you describe the feeling whenever you use your power?" he asked. "I need to know what it feels like when you use the Shintenshin no Jutsu."

"...So that... you can emulate the same feeling in order to... somehow... extend your mental control to other people's minds...?"

Naruto smiled in satisfaction, "Correct." he answered, "Could you do this for me?"

'...Hm... well... there's no harm in telling him, is there? We're allies, it's not strange for allies to share things like this, and it's not exactly forbidden...' Ino thought 'And I'm kinda curious, can he really do what he thought he could?'

Despite the conflicting thoughts, she relented and said; "Alright, but on one condition."

"Name it." he replied with a determined tone of voice.

"If this _does _work," she began, "You have to think-, no, believe, that I never helped you, alright? It's not forbidden to tell what it _feels _like when I used my Jutsu, but if you ended up with an ability similar to Shintenshin no Jutsu and people know it, there will be some people who would suspect that someone is leaking clan secrets. And it would be unpleasant, to say the least."

After she finished saying her term, Naruto answered, "Fair enough. Your involvement won't be known, you can be sure of that."

Ino sighed in relief before she said; "Alright, here goes... when I use Shintenshin no Jutsu... the best word to describe the feeling... is... trippy."

"...What?" Naruto asked as he didn't really expect that answer.

Ino chuckled sheepishly, "Hehe... yeah, weird right? But here's why, Shintenshin no Jutsu works by releasing our consciousness and implanting it into other living beings, so for beginners, they would be told to imagine their soul leaving their body and move on its own, hence, the reason why I called it... trippy."

"Hm..." Naruto hummed and begins to contemplate the information that has been given, "Simple enough. Though I assume that to those who aren't quite adept, they would have to imagine it to the point of near-believing?"

"..What do you mean?"

"That they have to imagine their soul leaving their body to the point that they would actually believe it to make it work?"

She was silent before she said; "I... I don't know... father never told me about something like that, but... I think that way would work too."

Wordlessly, Naruto closed his eyes and begin to emulate the feeling that the young Yamanaka felt everytime she uses her clan Jutsu.

'Mother, Kurama, I'm disconnecting the link now...' he warned the tenants within his mind firsthand so that they won't be surprised.

_"Go ahead son." _Kushina said, though he did notice her disappointed tone of voice.

_**"You could make your displeasure a little bit more subtle..." **_Kurama admonished Kushina, _**"Anyway, you go on ahead Kit."**_

As soon as Naruto heard Kurama answered positively, the link was cut off, allowing Naruto to experiment.

'Let's do this...'

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

Watching in fascination as Naruto began to meditate, Ino couldn't help but notice the physical changes that was done to the young man.

'He's certainly taller... not to mention that now he doesn't wear that atrocious jacket, it shows his well-trained body as well...' she thought, 'And he seems a lot more mature... calmer... imposing, even...'

Though she doesn't know what exactly happened, she's somewhat curious as to how Naruto Uzumaki, the small and somewhat obnoxious boy who is relatively regarded as a nuisance by his classmate could change so much after just a few days...

And how did he acquire such power?

Before she could even ponder the question, her head was suddenly hit by a small jolt of pain.

She grabbed her head, surprised by the sudden jolt, 'Ugh... what...?'

_"Hm... could this even work...?"_

...Did she just hear...

Ino shook her head in denial, as she thought; 'No, no way, that can't be real...'

_"...Who is there...? Ino?"_

'...Oh gods...'

_"You sound surprised by something... is something the matter?" _

"You-! H-how is this possible!?" Ino yelled out loud.

_"What is possible? Be more specific, please, it seems you're panicking."_

Ino then brought him out of his meditation by shaking him rather violently.

He opened his eyes in response, and said; "What's going on? All of a sudden you panicked, did something happen?"

Ino kept her befuddled expression, "W-, It..." In her current state, speech failed her, and so, she uses her next strategy.

'Is this enough of an answer for you!?' she broadcasted her thoughts.

Naruto's eyes widened in response, he did not see her mouth move, but yet he heard her voice, _"Then... it works."_

'Yeah, like a frickin' charm!' Ino mentally said, 'Wow...! I-I can't believe... I can't believe that what you said was possible!'

Naruto chuckled and stood, "Nor do I." he said, "Though... let me..." then, he closed his eyes again before re-opening it and said; "Try to relay your thoughts to me again."

'...You mean that you wanted to try turning it off? Alright, well... hm... you're kinda hot.' Ino thought.

"...Alright, good." Naruto said, despite Ino's silence, "I was trying to turn it off, and... it seems that it worked."

"So... you can't hear my thoughts now." said the pale blonde girl. "Or... the previous one?"

"Yes." Naruto answered before he smiled, "Thank you again, your insight proves useful after all."

Ino smiled, though in a rather awkward manner, "Heheh... no problem... though I didn't believe that it could work after all... this ability of yours is insane..."

"Hm." Naruto concurred with a simple word, "The limits aren't clear yet, even when I tried so many things with this ability... I couldn't help but to be curious as to what will I have next, you know?"

"Yeah... Um, hey, Naruto...?"

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind me asking... where did you get this power?" she asked.

Naruto was silent for a moment before he said; "Somewhere far away from here, and the source is... still an unknown." he stopped before continuing the previous sentence with; "Why do you ask?"

"I was just... curious." she answered, "I mean... your power is nothing that I've ever seen before."

Naruto allowed himself to smile rather proudly at that statement, "I agree." he said, "It is rather... awesome, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically.

Ino couldn't help but to giggle slightly, "That's one way to put it."

"Yeah..." Naruto muttered before he re-established the mental link connecting him to Kurama back.

However... this caused an unprecedented event to unravel, as he overheard something when he re-established the link...

...

_**"This again? As I said before, i****t was just a little biological manipulation, I merely strengthened his seed during the intercourse so that it's strong enough to create an embryo."**_

_"But doesn't that mean genetically, he is a part of me, a part of Minato, and... a part of you?"_

_**"Well if you want to get technical, then... perhaps, yes..."**  
><em>

_"...Give me a clear answer here, Kurama."  
><em>

_**"Then tell me one other Bijuu that has done something similar to what I did to you."**  
><em>

_"..."  
><em>

_**"There is no clear answer Kushina. I only did that because I know how badly you wanted a child, and that was the only way I knew how, considering your situation back then."**  
><em>

_"...Fine... I guess... I guess I do owe you one..."  
><em>

_**"Think nothing of it."**  
><em>

_"...Although... if Minato were alive and knew about this... he would certainly take pleasure in revenge because of what you did to him..."  
><em>

_**"(Chuckles), That was the funniest part..."**  
><em>

_"...That's also the reason why you did that, wasn't it...?"  
><em>

_**"(Chuckles), what do you think?"**  
><em>

_"...Bastard..."  
><em>

_..._

* * *

><p><em>...<br>_

When Ino saw Naruto rubbing the bridge of his nose and clenching his eyes shut after a minute of silence, she became confused and asked him; "What's wrong?"

Still rubbing his nose and closing his eyes, Naruto responded; "...Overhearing a conversation that was never meant to be heard..."

"...Huh...?"

In response, he opened his eyes and sighed; "Nevermind... I was just speaking to myself..."

"Oh.. h-hey, wait... you're bleeding!"

The blonde-haired boy was confused before he tasted the blood that was coming down from his nose, which he promptly wiped with his hand.

Instead of panicking, Naruto merely goes, "...Hm..." as he calmly stared at the blood-stained fingers of his.

Naruto heard the sound of footsteps coming closer to him from behind, and when he turned, he found the figure of Kakashi.

"So, how's your training going along?"

"It went pretty well," Naruto answered, "don't you think?" he asked Ino.

"...Yeah, sure, but..." Ino answered, "Don't you think that it... didn't go quite well? Seeing that your nose was bleeding..."

"It was an expected reaction." was Naruto's reply, "Nothing to worry about."

Kakashi merely raised his eyebrows to his reply, he hadn't expect more than a simple answer from him, even if it's a little bit vague, "Very well, though I am somewhat curious as to what you wanted to ask her and what the hemorrhage was all about, I have a feeling that you won't reveal it to anyone just yet, even me."

Naruto smiled at Kakashi's insight, "Your feeling is correct."

"Hm, thought so." Kakashi said casually, "Though I'll let go of that attitude for now, if there comes a time where the information must be made privy to the members of team 7, I highly suggest that you do so."

"Agreed." Naruto answered.

"Now, as much as this joint training has helped us..." Kakashi moved the topic along, "I will give you a mission that might put your skills to test."

Interested, Naruto asked "What is it?"

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask and said; "Oh you'll just have to come with me and see.."

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

_Moments later..._

Hiruzen sighed exasperatedly at the figures in front of him, "So... mind telling me what _exactly _happened?"

In front of him, stand the figures of Kakashi, Asuma, Sakura, Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Naruto, who've just completed a certain mission involving a certain cat.

Besides Kakashi, Asuma, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sasuke, all of them looked worse for wear, seeing that they're covered in bruises and dirt...

Kakashi sighed and explained, "Asuma suggested that we helped his team capture Tora, seeing as he still couldn't forget how hard it was to capture its grandmother when we were genin and wanted his students to not suffer what he had suffered..."

Hiruzen's son glared at Kakashi, who ignored him and continue along; "I agreed, thinking that it would be good for my team to know about this cat and about the deal of being a part of a larger team, but out of all of them, I think Naruto and Sasuke are the exceptional ones, seeing that they're the ones who followed their orders by concocting a plan to capture it and followed it through, the others did the same with Shikamaru, however..."

Shikamaru merely scratched his head and yawned, and Hiruzen doesn't need to hear any explanation to know that the young Nara was probably too lazy to follow any plan if he didn't think that it was really important.

Asuma sighed and said; "The cat's family has been a bane for three generations of genin... but somehow," he turned to Naruto, "this one softened up to you."

Naruto merely raised his eyebrows, as if he didn't notice that there's a golden-furred cat perched on his shoulder, "Is that a problem?" he asked rhetorically.

"Technically, it's not." Kakashi interjected, "But considering that there are those who went through quite a hardship to even try to catch the damn thing, I don't think that it's not a problem for those who knew how hard it is to get those demon cats."

Naruto merely shrugged as he petted the cat, while Sasuke merely shook his head.

"Either way, the mission is complete," The young Uchiha said, "Can't we just get our payment and get it over with?"

"Agreed." Shikamaru said, "The sooner we get this done the better..."

"What they said." Naruto conceded.

Hiruzen sighed and said; "Very well, I shall give your payment... and by the way, Kakashi..."

"Yes Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked.

"There is something that I must discuss with the Jonin, meet me three hours from now, along with you, Asuma."

"What is it father?" Asuma asked.

"It will be discussed three hours from now, in the mean time, all of you, except Tora, are dismissed. The Daimyo's wife will pick him up soon enough."

Naruto nodded, "You heard the man, time to come down, little guy."

The cat looked towards Naruto, seemingly pleading him to not leave him, but Naruto returned the gaze with his glare, shortly, the cat gave up and jumped down from his shoulder.

Then after that, they left the room, though Naruto's curiosity is somewhat piqued by what the Hokage wanted to discuss with the scarecrow and his son...

As they walked out of the Hokage's tower, Sasuke tilted his head slightly downward and thought back to what happened during the chase...

...

_At the beginning, the cat was hell-bent on escaping them, it used nearly all of its strength to avoid capture, and it did its job well, considering that despite the plan that he and Naruto had made, the cat was too wild of a creature for its movement to be precisely measured._

_But when Naruto managed to grab the cat's head, it started to fight, before it went perfectly still...  
><em>

_Then, it shuddered, as if something had spooked it, but before long, the shuddering stopped, and it began to see Naruto as a friendly being, and was not discomforted by his touch, unlike the others...  
><em>

_...  
><em>

'What was it that you do Naruto?' he thought as he looked at the unnervingly calm and collected figure of Naruto Uzumaki, who was once known as the hot-headed dead-last of the class.

Unbeknownst to the Uchiha, a certain young Nara also saw what happened to the cat, and along with him, he is also bothered by Naruto's new personality.

* * *

><p>...<p>

"...So... you heard that huh?" Kushina asked as she looked at her feet, her face flushing in embarrassment.

"It was unintentional." Naruto assured his mother, "But nevertheless, it didn't... lessen the awkwardness."

**"You would end up knowing about it in due time anyway." **Kurama remarked. **"Better now than later, don't you think?"**

"I guess you're somewhat right..." Naruto answered Kurama's question. "But... what exactly happened to tou-san? Judging by how kaa-san told you that father would want revenge if he were alive... I guess it wasn't particularly pleasant..."

Kurama grinned, but when he was just starting to explain, Kushina interjected, "No! Trust me Naruto, you don't want to know..."

Due to his mother's reaction, Naruto winced slightly at the thought of the horrific ailment that Kurama caused to his father, clearing his throat, he said; "Well, changing the topic... the experiment worked."

**"We know it did," **Kurama remarked, **"And I for one, couldn't be more excited to know that it did." **he added with a grin

"Though not without cost." Naruto said, "I can only use it for some amount of time at the moment, nothing that a little session of test wouldn't fix, I'm sure. But why are you so interested in this particular ability, Kurama?"

**"Divulgence of secrets."** he answered,** "With this ability, any information, no matter how confidential, can be disclosed, if you know who to look. And the advantage that you have is that you don't need physical contact or any apparatus to amplify it, unlike those of the Yamanaka clan."**

"But it's still in it's initial phase." Kushina interjected, "Right now, you can telepathically share your mind with other people and control them to some degree, given time, training, and experiments, it will develop, of course, but..." she trailed off.

"...But you're not really okay with me having this kind of power, are you?" Naruto asked.

Kushina looked hesitant before she answered, "...I was, at first, I mean, this power is dangerous, and it could be corrupting... not to mention it made you hear that embarrassing bit..." she added, to which made Naruto wince at remembering the conversation, "but... I believe you, sochi. I know that you won't be corrupted by it."

Naruto smiled faintly before answering; "I know that there are limits, mother. And I won't overstep my boundaries."

**"Though you said that, you already created a plan to test your newly acquired ability by hijacking one of the Jounin's mind that attends the meeting that the old bag of bones said so that you know what it was all about."** Kurama remarked, **"Not to mention that you already planned it in less than a minute after you leave his office."**

"...Were you prying my mind?"

**"I don't need to, we share the same body, and in turn, the same brain." **Kurama answered, **"The question now is that whether or not you're going through with this plan."**

Kushina picked this time to add her insight as well, "I sensed your hesitation my son, you thought that it wouldn't be kind of you to meddle with something that isn't your problem... but..."

**"But in the end, the choice is on you, not us. So..."**

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

_**"...What's it going to be?"**_

Naruto opened his eyes as he looked around the waiting room outside the Hokage's office, two hours and fifty-five minutes since the time Hiruzen told Kakashi and Asuma to meet him in three hours.

He saw that there is a group consisting a couple of Jonin around the waiting room, he assumed that all of them, if not most of them, are here because of the meeting. And that Kakashi and Asuma are already inside, considering that he doesn't see them amongst the crowd.

'This just gets more curious and curious... what seems to be the problem that the old man wants to talk about?' Naruto thought.

Then when the time comes, they were called to come inside the office.

Naruto made an eye contact with one of the Jounin that was ordered to go inside, and when it happened...

He struck...

The man that he had made eye contact with suddenly staggered as he clenched his eyes shut and rubbed his head in an attempt to negate an ache, his friend who noticed this, came over to him and said; "H-hey, are you alright?"

"...Y-yeah, I'm fine..." he said shakily.

The man looked at Naruto one last time out of bewilderment before he went inside the Hokage's office with a faster pace than before.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief before he wiped a small trail of blood coming from his nose.

He heard his mother sigh as she said; _"If that is your choice, then see it to the end my son..."_

The blonde-haired boy then began to regulate his breathing for a couple of seconds before he closed his eyes again...

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

When Naruto opened them again, his perspective was changed. As he is now looking from the perspective of the man that he had 'infiltrated' with his ability before.

It is somewhat similar to what the Yamanaka clan do, but the difference is that it is not complete possession.

He merely used his power to share perspectives between him and someone, in this case, one of the Jonin that attends the meeting so that he could know what exactly is going on. Along with testing the extent of his abilities.

Right now, he is looking at a small congregation of Jounin, including the teachers of the current genin teams, such as Kakashi, Asuma, and two others whose names escape him at the moment.

Though one of the two would've left quite an impression on him if he had met him beforehand, what, with the green spandex and bowl haircut...

And the blonde-haired boy could feel Kurama's repulse when he saw the atrociously-dressed man through Naruto.

_"Thank you all for coming on such short notice." _He heard the Hokage speaking through the unknown Jounin's ears. _"Let me get straight to the problem, Nami no Kuni(Land of Waves). Some of you might know this place, some of you might not. To enlighten the latter, this place is a small nation located in an island southeast of Hi no Kuni's coast."  
><em>

_"Just a couple of hours ago, a message came from their leader, his name is Tazuna. He said that they had been building a bridge that would connect them to the Hi no Kuni by land so that traders from our village could have an easier route to reach them, which would be good because it would reduce the cost that comes from using naval transportation for the goods to be delivered."  
><em>

_"However," _Hiruzen said as he got to the heart of the matter, _"They're also facing a problem, a group of bandits has been acting under someone's thumb and halted the construction's progress indefinitely, while it seems that they could handle things quite well at first, a recent increase of the numbers of bandits within the region had suppressed them to a sad state."_

_"And this is where you come in, Tazuna asked a reinforcement from Konoha to liberate them from the grasp of the one controlling the bandits, whoever he or she might be."  
><em>

After hearing his speech, one of the Jounin asked, _"But isn't it a bit much, to send a lot of jounin for a couple of bandits?"  
><em>

_"It would be so, Asuma, had this were just a normal mission involving normal bandits." _Hiruzen answered his son's question, _"But what bothers me is that they know who the bandit leader is, just like we know him."  
><em>

_"...What do you mean Hokage-sama?" _Asked the black-haired jounin woman besides Kakashi.

Hiruzen closed his eyes before he intertwined his fingers, _"The description of the bandit leader is that he is a man with a tattoo of a horse's head with flaming eyes and mane located on his right shoulder."_

'...War Beast...!' Naruto thought as he realized the possibility of the identity of the bandit leader who has the tattoo that fits the description.

And true to what he thought, the other Jounins were alarmed when they heard the description.

_"I am sure that all of you know about the War Beast, some of you may even have seen him once during the third war in his battle against the Yondaime, if this information is correct, then needless to say, the reinforcement that Nami no Kuni asked of us needed to be given to them. They cannot handle this on their own."_

...

End.

...

* * *

><p>...<p>

The War Beast is spotted on Nami no Kuni... what would Naruto do with this information?

Anyway, thank you for reading and stay tune for the next chapter!

Badliar 2312, out.


	6. Chapter 5: The Meeting

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own the original sources of my stories, in this case, Naruto, which is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

So, it has been a long time since this story is updated, hasn't it? Why am did I update this after such a long time? Well, it's because I aim to end it in just a few chapters more.

This story's ending will have an open-ended nature. It won't even get to the Time Skip arc, as this story will not be that long, it will be just this Wave/War Beast arc then the final chapter will 'conclude' the story and why am I doing this exactly?

Because I need this story to be over. However, considering the nature of Naruto's power, it is apparent that he would be powerful enough to perform preemptive strike against Canon Naruto's Big Bads, and though Curb-Stomping them _can _be made interesting... I just don't want to drag this story for long.

Look, I made this story in the first place because I was impressed by the film Chronicle, and I still am. Back then, I planned this story to be continued into a crossover, but after a while, I began to change my plan, and the decision that I made is to make the story short but with a _very _open-ended ending.

Some of you might not like this decision, but this is made simply because I don't want this story to be left uncompleted. I _will _complete this, but now I lack the drive and the interest to follow the premise that I made for this story.

So to reiterate it more concisely, this is the Beginning of the End for this story. Four Chapters of Wave/War Beast arc and then the one chapter after that will be the final chapter of this story.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: The Meeting.<br>**

* * *

><p>It has been a day since Naruto 'overheard' the meeting between the Hokage and the Jounin...<p>

Currently, he has located himself on the top of a tree within the training area, while having his eyes closed, his arms folded, and using his power to suspend himself in the air.

_**"So... you're thinking of taking this War Beast eh?" **_Kurama remarked, _**"I like it kit, you feel challenged, and so you wish to best this guy who had placed fear within the hearts of the Konoha Shinobies... Though I must ask you something..."**_

_**"Why do you feel challenged?"  
><strong>_

'...I would say that it's because of the Yo-, I mean, my father's essence.' Naruto answered, 'I think he had an unfinished business with the guy, even though I don't know what it was exactly, I feel that I should face him... does it make sense to you?'

_**"Somewhat... It's more than likely that you feel drawn to this War Beast because the Yondaime fought him once, and that event left an impression within him that goes on to you through his doppelganger." **_Kurama answered, _**"However, what it was **_**_exactly that made him so is unknown to me. Care to put your insight here, Kushina?"_**

_"...Minato told me about this person once... he said that despite his Moniker, the War Beast is actually someone that he could've gotten along with had he not attacked first... whatever that means..." _Kushina answered, _"But I think that Kurama's right, this War Beast left an impression on him..."__  
><em>

'Hm... whoever this person is... he left an impression on my father... I can feel that my father held him in high regards, as if he considered him as one of the most worthy enemy that he ever faced... it might be interesting to meet him in person.'

_"What would you do if you meet him?" _Kushina asked, _"And secondly, how do you expect to go to Nami no Kuni?"_

'...Fly.'

_"...Right... no, what I mean is, do you expect Hiruzen to allow you to go to Nami no Kuni?"_

Naruto merely smirked, 'Do you expect me to ask for permission?'

The blonde young man felt his mother's pride at that, though there's a little bit of trepidation there as well, _'I should've known... you are my son after all, why would you even consider asking for permission?' _she asked rhetorically.

_**"Better question is, why did the thought of him trying to ask the old bag of bones even came to your mind?"**_

_"Shut up Kurama."_ Kushina replied, _"Anyway... whatever way you want to do to deal with this, I expect you to get out of it alive and well, got it?"__  
><em>

'Don't worry about me mother, I can take care of myself.'

_"I know, I know. But it doesn't make me less worried..." _

Naruto sighed when he heard his mother's somber tone, 'Noted, mother.' he said through their link.

He turned his head leftwards and saw the approaching figures of Sasuke, along with Sakura right behind him.

'I'll talk to you later Kurama, mother.' Naruto said before he flew himself down to greet his teammates.

When he landed, his teammates' focus turned to him, and Sasuke said; "Naruto, you're... early."

"Why are you surprised?" Naruto asked him.

"You've been late before this, sometimes even more than Kakashi, why _shouldn't_ I be surprised?"

"...Point taken." Naruto agreed, "Though it's not really something to be frowned upon, wouldn't you agree?"

"That much is obvious." Sasuke replied, "So where is Kakashi?" he asked.

"Evidently, not here yet." Naruto answered as he looked around the training area, "I guess that gives us some free time to spare."

Sasuke scoffed, "Hn, like always..." he said before he strayed off somewhere.

Though strangely, Sakura didn't follow him this time, she stayed and said; "Hey, Naruto. I want to talk to you about something..."

"Concerning what?" he asked.

"...Um... the... you've been rather... friendly with Sasuke lately, I was wondering if..."

Before she could finish talking however, Naruto already beat her to the punch, "If you're going to ask me to ask him what he likes in a girl or finding it out through investigation, I would have to decline as it is your endeavor, not mine. If you want me to somehow trick him into going on a date with you, I would reject it as it's not something that I would like to do. And lastly, if you're going to ask me to say nice things about you that may or may not be true, I would have to... again, decline."

...

"...How did you know what I was going to ask? And in that exact order?" Sakura asked, shocked at Naruto's extremely keen insight.

Naruto shrugged and answered with; "It's not that hard to figure out."

"...Well, okay.. if you're not going to help me with either of those three, then, can you at least find out if he's interested in... you know, dating, or stuff like that? Because it kinda bothers me how he always reject any kind of advances from every girl..."

Naruto looked at the figure of the black-haired boy who is already practicing his fighting style and sighed, "That, I can do. Not now however, but... don't put your hopes too high." he warned her.

"Why not?" she asked.

The blonde young man sighed again and said; "Odds are, he's not interested in any romantic relationship, if anything, he might see your attempts as something annoying, considering how he always rejected your advances..."

"...But..."

"Regardless," Naruto cut her off, "I'll try and find out whether or not my assumption is true," 'Which is most likely true...' he added to himself.

With that, Naruto left Sakura to her thoughts as he moved far away from Sasuke's position and summoned a few Kage Bunshin.

He looked at each and every one of the clones and said; "You know what to do."

With that simple sentence, all of them went off to each their own...

And the moment they left, Naruto sat down in lotus position and closed his eyes. After a moment, his body floated, and the wind began to blow quite wildly around him, though if one were to pay attention, the rogue wind seems to be controlled by an external force of some kind that made it quite chaotic...

This is a method of training that Kushina had offered, while the rest of his clones trained to improve the techniques that he had acquired such as the Kinetic shockwave, or the aerokinetic and hydrokinetic abilities, he would be exercising his abilities while being immobile, effectively improving his versatility at using his telekinesis.

And, if he became proficient enough in what Kushina called 'Motionless Utilization', he would be able to annihilate his enemies by just standing still and using his power.

He smiled inwardly at the notion and maintained the hold he has over his surroundings, he then accelerated the velocity of the wind bit by bit, to the point that it could be said as a small tornado.

He maintained it for a couple of minutes until...

His head was hit by the back of a Kunai that was thrown by a certain scarecrow-looking Shinobi.

Although it would've made a normal man lose his concentration, thanks to Naruto's kinetic shield on his skin, he only felt slight tinge of pain, but it was enough to prompt him to open his eyes.

And he saw the figure of Kakashi, who said; "If you could've been so kind as to leave Konoha out of your destructive warpath, I would've allowed you to go on. But based on what I've seen, it seems that you were quite drunk with power to the point where it's hard for you to listen to your teammate's voices who ordered you to stop."

While still floating in the air, he looked to his sides, and found that Sasuke and Sakura were covered with leaves that was plucked by the wind that Naruto had created...

...And along with it, the tree which leaves he had plucked has also become barren due to his power.

"...Apologies." Naruto answered succinctly.

Kakashi shook his head and said; "Now, I have some announcements to make. But, before that, can you please dust them off first?" he asked as he pointed towards Sasuke and Sakura.

Naruto landed gracefully and waved his hand to summon a gust of wind that blew all of the leaves from their body.

Sasuke coughed a bit due to the force of the gale before asking; "What is it that you want to tell us?"

"That in a couple of days, you, along with team 8,9 and 10 will be having a couple of days off." Kakashi bluntly answered.

"...What? Why?" asked Sakura.

"There is an urgent matter that the Jounins must take care of, it's very imperative and classified, and thus, we are ordered not to divulge too much information." Kakashi stated, "But I can say this much: It is regarding an old adversary of a past Hokage, he's up to no good and since he is in a neighboring country close to our own, we of Konoha are called to stop him."

"And so, the day off for you, because as much as I want to train you guys a bit more, this problem must be dealt with." Kakashi finished his statement.

Sasuke frowned, although he didn't like the prospect of putting off the training for a moment, he nevertheless complied, due to the fact Kakashi made the conundrum sounded important by using a deadly serious tone of voice to convey the importance of the mission that he is participating in.

"Alright." said Naruto, "Though we can train on our own, right?" he asked.

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask and said; "Nobody is prohibiting you to do such a thing."

That made Sasuke smirk, "Hn, then I guess it's up to ourselves then."

Kakashi then cleared his throat, "Well, if you see it as a training to test your independence and discipline, you're very welcome to view it as such." said the scarecrow, "Then, shall we begin our training for the day?"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura nodded, prompting Kakashi to say; "Then we'll start with..."

* * *

><p><em>A couple of hours later...<em>

The genin members of team 7 were walking down the streets of Konoha after their training session finished, "So what do you guys want to do?" asked Sakura.

"I'm going home." Sasuke said rather succinctly before he parted ways.

Sighing despondently, Sakura said; "Well, see you Sasuke-kun..." she said dejectedly.

"...You really _do_ like him, do you?" Naruto asked.

She scoffed and said; "Well of course, haven't you been paying attention for the last... I don't know, couple of years?" she then frowned as she suddenly remembered something, "And... I remember that you liked me before, you used to ask me non-stop about having a date... Are you... I mean, are you still...?"

"Grown out of it." Naruto quickly answered.

After a second without him continuing, Sakura said; "...Oh. ...W-what made you get over me?"

Naruto noticed a slight... curiosity and... sadness, in her voice. Though he could be wrong, "The realization that you're still fawning over Sasuke, which won't go away anytime soon. In fact, I should've been over you once I know about how you feel about him, my stupidity prevailed over my reason back then."

"...I see..." said Sakura before she went completely silent.

"...I may be wrong, but is there something saddening about me no longer having any romantic feelings for you?" asked Naruto after a couple of seconds of silence.

"N-no! There's, there's nothing wrong with it, i-in fact, I... I'm glad! Y-yeah, this means that you won't bother me with asking me for dates any... longer..." she said before she laughed rather awkwardly, "I-it's alright with me..."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, truly, she was not that good at lying. But before he could ask anything further, he heard someone calling his name.

"Hey, Naruto!"

It was the sound of his childhood acquaintance, Kiba Inuzuka, they used to brawl in the playground when they were little so it's rather impossible for the two of them to not know each other or call the other with their surname instead of their given name.

He turned towards Kiba and his teammates who were walking behind him and said; "Kiba, good evening."

Kiba frowned and said; "What's with the formal attitude?"

"...It's just a habit now." Naruto answered rather off-handedly, 'Considering how my father used to act...' he thought, "Did you just finish your training session?"

"Yeah, Kurenai-sensei let us go early. She also said that your sensei along with her and several others are going on a mission together, is that true?" asked Kiba.

"Yeah, Kakashi told us as much as well." Naruto answered, "Where's your other teammate?" he asked Kiba.

"Ha? What do you mean by..."

He was cut off by Shino Aburame who tapped his shoulder and pointed towards a nearby tree, Kiba turned towards it and saw his female teammate, Hyuuga Hinata, hiding behind a tree while occasionally trying to take a peek towards them.

Kiba sighed as he ruffled his own hair, "Ne, Hinata, why are you hiding?" he asked out loud, "At least hide behind Shino, you're too far away from us if you hide behind that tree."

It took a moment until Hinata got out from her hiding spot and positioned herself besides Shino, which was the farthest she could be from Naruto while close enough to her teammates, "H-hello..." she said meekly without any eye contact to either Naruto or Sakura.

"Hello to you too." Naruto replied evenly which made her blush rather cutely, "Hinata Hyuuga, correct?"

"...y-yes..." she said as she nodded.

"Naruto Uzumaki if you forget who I am, but I'm sure Kiba talks about me sometimes." he introduced himself.

"That I do." said Kiba, "I said that you are one of the stupidest students in the class, but like that needed more clarification." he said with a cocky grin, "But, I also told her that you're also one of the gutsiest kid that I know of. It takes a lot of balls to do the pranks that you do."

Naruto smiled back and said; "And it takes a lot of bravery to use those kinds of words near your mother or your sister."

Kiba laughed wholeheartedly, "You have no idea. It took a while to get them used to it though. But at least they're not really bothered by it now."

Naruto shook his head at what Kiba said, but afterwards, he changed the topic, "So do you guys have anything planned or...?"

"We're going to get something to eat at the Okonomiyaki place, actually." answered Kiba before he noticed that Naruto was alone with Sakura, and remembering how he used to act around her, he asked with an impish-looking smirk; "But... do you guys have anything planned as well?"

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto, genuinely confused.

"You know, like a date or something, seeing that it's just the two of you and seeing how you have a crush on her..." Kiba answered with a shrug.

Hinata's eyes widened at that, and Sakura's cheeks seems to flush rather faintly, but Naruto's expression didn't change as he instantly answered; "We are not. We just happened to bump into you when Sasuke decided to part ways."

"Then how come Sakura-san doesn't follow him around like she always does?" asked Hinata whose tone was rather... angry and demanding, for some reason, though she's still hiding behind Shino and the volume of her voice was still low compared to Naruto or Kiba's.

"...Interesting question." Naruto remarked before turning to Sakura and asked, "Why didn't you?"

Seeing that she got the attention of the others, she felt rather awkward, "Uh... I... I thought that I should give him some space sometimes... because, you know... too much asking and he will be bothered by it." she answered lamely.

Kiba then quipped with raised eyebrows, "Isn't it a little too late to be thinking about that _now_? After god knows how long you were at it? He's been bothered by you ever since you, Ino and the other girls constantly asking him for a date, and only _now _you're beginning to think about that?."

"I-it's better late than never isn't it?" she replied lamely.

"...That saying would be a lot more effective if it's only been a week or so after your constant attempts to woo him." Naruto shot back.

The blonde boy then shook his head and said; "Anyways, I need to get to my apartment, see ya." said Naruto before he walked away.

"S-see you Naruto." said Sakura.

"Take care man." Kiba said. Then, as Naruto left, Kiba turned to Shino and said; "We're still going right?"

Shino nodded in response and Kiba said to Sakura; "Then, we'll see you around Haruno."

Sakura nodded and waved as they leave, but she also noticed Hinata's stare as she walked by, it's as if she's evaluating her or something.

And then they left, leaving Sakura alone in the street, she sighed and said; "...Nothing else to do but go home I guess..." she said despondently.

She then stared at the figure of Naruto who's getting further and further away, after a moment, she turned away from him and walked towards the location of her house with her head slightly tilted downwards, as if saddened about something.

* * *

><p>It was nightfall in Konoha, and if one were to focus their sights on the rooftops, they could see a figure traversing through them rather swiftly and noiselessly, even compared to the shinobies that uses them quite frequently.<p>

The figure seemed to be restless, the way he's breathing is as if he's used to free-running extensively, and it shows how determined he was to find the person that he's looking for.

He had seen him acting rather suspiciously when he was about to go home from his time in the park, he looked as if he was up to something bad that he was attempting, -a very good attempt at that-, to hide.

But the moment he saw him, he flew upwards, and in return, he chased him by running in the ground.

Uchiha Sasuke looked up in an attempt to try and see where Uzumaki Naruto was going as he also traversing through the obstacles in the ground, and after a moment, he saw him landing down twelve feet in front of him.

The raven-haired boy regulated his breathing before he walked towards Naruto who's still standing silently with his back facing him.

After he's just four feet away from Naruto, he heard him asking; "Why are you following me Sasuke?"

Sasuke took another breath before replying with; "I saw you acting suspiciously. I thought that you might have a problem or something, but when you saw me, you flew away. I think I'm the one who should be asking questions, such as; 'What are you doing in this time of night?'."

"...Are you worried about me? Or are you just curious?"

"Look, just answer my question dammit!"

"Only if you answer mine." Naruto shot back.

"...A bit of both. Now answer my question."

"...Fair enough." Naruto said before he fully turned and faced Sasuke, "I'm leaving Konoha for a short while."

"Where will you be going?"

"Nami no Kuni." answered Naruto, "It will not be long. Although, I am doing this without permission... which reminds me, it would be very kind of you if you decide to not reveal this to anyone."

"...Is this about the mission that Kakashi and the other senseis are doing?" asked Sasuke after a couple seconds of silence.

Naruto's eyebrows rose in amusement, "How did you figure it out?"

"Nami no Kuni is a country very near to Hi no Kuni, when the scarecrow said that they'll be involved in a mission on a neighboring country, there's only a few of lists of countries that share the same borders as us, Nami no Kuni is one of them, and with what you're trying to do and what you told me... it's not really that hard to connect the dots."

Naruto smirked before he said; "Should've expected that out of you I guess..." he shook his head in amusement before saying; "Then, what do you want to do, now that you know?"

"..."

If Sasuke had to be honest with himself, he didn't have the slightest idea on what he should do now.

On one hand, Naruto was very determined to go, and seeing his power and intelligence firsthand, he realized that he couldn't force nor argue with him to not do it. On the other hand, now that he has revealed this, he has a sudden desire to go with him, perhaps it's a streak of his rebel side of himself, he's not really sure, but it's clear to Sasuke that he has to make a choice.

"Time's running out Sasuke, what will it be?" Naruto asked after a moment of silence.

"...I'll come with you." the young Uchiha said with determination.

"Now why do you want to do such a thing?" Naruto asked calmly with a smirk slightly visible.

"...Just because. Can I come or can I not?"

Naruto was silent for a moment before he shrugged, "Either way works for me... But, I'll honor your wish, come with me if you want to." he said before he turned and jumped to the rooftops again.

"But if you don't mind, try to keep up." he said before he leaped again.

Sasuke smirked before he followed Naruto again, this time with a slightly visible satisfaction apparent in his body language.

* * *

><p><em>The next afternoon...<br>_

_**"So... why do you let the Uchiha brat follow you Kit?" **_asked Kurama, _**"What's your angle in this?"**_

Naruto turned his head towards Sasuke, who's still following him rather loyally, if he must say, 'It's a gamble, if I have to put it that way... he's not the kind of person who would be satisfied if he doesn't get what he wants, kind of like a child really, but then again, it's what he is.' said Naruto.

'By allowing him to follow me to the heart of the problem which is the War Beast, I could only hope that this will make him see, that sometimes what we're desiring might not be achievable because of our lack of strength.'

_"In which you will provide." _Kushina finished for her son, _"(chuckle), that's kind of devious, son, but then again, I would've done the same thing if I had a teammate like him."_

'What? Cleverly using a situation to make him convince himself that not everything is achievable without proper skills or experience?' Naruto asked.

_"Why yes." _Kushina answered, _"You can't tell someone like him what to do and expect them to listen, for them, you must make them convince themselves to accept one's view."_

'Exactly my point.' Naruto answered, 'Don't worry, I won't let him die so easily. After all, this will also test my skill of psychokinesis, hopefully he won't be so reckless as to jump into the enemy's line.'

_"Well... let's hope for the best then Naruto." _said Kushina.

_**"In my personal opinion, Kit... if he **_**does _happen to got himself in trouble with_ _the Beast or his underlings... let him be. Let him learn his lesson."_ **Kurama said, _**"That will teach a person faster than**_ _**lecturing him."** _

_"Kurama..."_

'Half-tempting.' Naruto replied, 'But no. I'm not that kind of person after all.'

He heard his mother sighing and saying; _"Let's just hope that this one is not like his father..."_

'Now what does that supposed to mean?' Naruto asked curiously.

_**"It means that like most Uchiha, this runt's father also had a ten foot pole up his ass." **_Kurama stated bluntly, _**"Let's see if this one inherit that little trait from his father."**_

"We're here Naruto."

Sasuke's voice brought Naruto out from his mental conversation, and they saw that they were near the small dock where there would be a boat that could take them to Nami no Kuni.

They walked towards it, and after they got there, they noticed that it had been emptied. No one was there, and not a boat in sight.

"Damn it. There's no one here. And there's not a single boat either." Sasuke said. "Maybe the Jounins already got here and have used the boats for themselves... How do you plan on getting there, then?"

"There's only one way." Naruto answered, "Can you handle high-altitude flight, Sasuke?" he asked rather nonchalantly, as if asking about the weather.

"...You mean we have to fly there?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course. In fact, if I had been alone, I would've arrived at Nami no Kuni a few hours ago. But since you insist on coming, we had to walk." Naruto answered, "Unless... hm... Nope. No no. Too tacky to use." he added with a shook of his head.

"What were you thinking about?"

"I was thinking about splitting the water into two while we walk at its bottom. But nah, too wasteful and too flashy. Better to fly." Naruto finished.

"Alright then, wha-"

Before Sasuke could finish whatever it was the he's about to speak, his shirt was grabbed by Naruto with one hand, and before he could form a response, he was carried towards the sky with little effort.

* * *

><p>Kakashi, along with some of his Jounin colleagues had arrived in Nami no Kuni a couple of hours ago.<p>

However, to say that they did not meet some resistance was to say that they were going to Nami no Kuni on vacation.

There were a large number of bandits that immediately attacked them when they arrived at the island and met with Tazuna, the one who hired them despite their supposed secrecy. The boat that they had used to get there were destroyed and the captain was murdered in the sudden attack that caused quite a lot of confusion.

They were able to be caught by surprise due to the fact that there were several Shinobi who had cast an illusion that hid the bandits from view unless one were too close to them. Thanks to Kurenai, they were alerted to the ambush and was more ready to face them.

Due to the ambush, Kakashi knew that War Beast knew of their coming, this much is certain. And despite the fact that they have dispatched the previous threats quickly, the sheer number of people that had attacked them with their tactic of 'hit and run' was enough to overwhelm them. Some even escaped, proving that they have done this a dozen times before with teams of Shinobies.

So new plan and tactic must be made. And if worse comes to worst, backup will be needed.

After all, the War Beast had trained his underlings quite well to handle a couple of well-seasoned Jounins with lesser supplies and techniques.

Then he heard a faint noise from afar. It sounds as if someone was screaming or something.

"Kakashi." Asuma called him, "Let's go. We still have to meet with the village leader, Tazuna."

He took one last look towards the direction where he thought the sound originated before he shrugged and walked away to continue with the mission.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile... with Naruto and Sasuke...<em>

"...Who would've thought that you're afraid of heights." Naruto remarked upon the heavily breathing Sasuke.

The black-haired boy then glared at Naruto and said; "It's not the height, it's the speed! Who the hell could be so used to that kind of air pressure hitting them right in the face!"

Naruto had forgotten the fact that he could handle the force of wind hitting his face every time he flew because he had a thin protective layer that enveloped his body which would prevent him from experiencing any discomfort that could've happened if he did not have it.

And he had forgotten that, as a normal human, Sasuke did not have this protective layer.

And as such, he had screamed the whole way from the dock to the small island.

And that's not even his maximum speed, too.

But nevertheless, Naruto apologized to Sasuke and shortly afterwards, they went forward.

They were now deep in enemy territory, Nami no Kuni. Naruto made a clone and ordered him to scout the area and dispel himself after it was done.

"Wait a moment. We'll move out after he dispels." Naruto said to Sasuke. "When dispelled after he had done something, the information will be returned to the caster. So we'll wait until then." he added an explanation.

Not a minute later, Naruto got the information he needed: There was no one within a kilometer range.

And as such, they began to move, and as Sasuke recommended, they chose to walk instead of flying towards the nearest settlement.

They walked in relative silence, which was broken when they saw something a couple of hours after their first step.

"What is that?" wondered Sasuke.

It was a tomb. A tomb that was marked by a rather massive cleaver, taller than Naruto's height, replacing the place where one would usually see a tombstone.

'Hm... a tombstone of a powerful swordsman judging by its size.' Naruto thought as he walked closer to the tomb along with Sasuke. 'Uniquely made too... What's the deal with the hole in the middle though?'

"Whoever carried this sword must've been strong." Naruto remarked as he traced the blade's hilt. "To use such a blade requires great strength and experience in handling it. Yet however strong this person was... There was a stronger person who killed him."

"Hn... Wonder who that could be." Sasuke remarked.

"Don't exactly know." Naruto stated in an as-a-matter-of-fact way. "Let's go. Better to leave the grave undisturbed." he said as he walked away from the tomb with Sasuke following close behind.

However, when Naruto left the grave, he felt a sudden chill in the air, a looming threat, his primal instinct was riled up by a familiar feeling that came from the very depth of his mind.

He's being watched.

And this person didn't even bother to hide his or her killing intent upon him.

The raven-haired boy then asked Naruto, "Naruto, do you feel that?"

"Yes... As a matter of fact, I do." Naruto answered, "Can you pinpoint his location?"

"Ck. I don't think so. He's too stealthy for me to-"

The sound of projectiles being thrown at high speed stopped Sasuke from speaking anything further. His instinct immediately reacted to block the oncoming attack.

But Naruto was faster.

Within a mere second, Naruto got behind Sasuke and deflected all the projectiles that was thrown by a simple wave of his hand.

When they fell, Naruto saw that the projectiles were senbons, needles usually used to hit acupuncture points in the human body. An esoteric weapon, rarely used by Shinobies. Except those who're quite adept in the field of medicine.

Seeing the direction from where the senbon came from, he flew over to the tree branch where the the thrower was most likely located in breakneck velocity, destroying several upper part of trees along the way.

But despite what he did, he found no one.

And he clicked his tongue when he faintly heard the sound of someone falling to the ground. He had left Sasuke unguarded.

He flew back, and found that Sasuke was gone. Most likely, he had been taken by whoever attacked them.

_"Impressive." _he heard his mother said, _"Whoever that was, he was very fast."_

**_"He caught you off guard there, Kit."_ **said Kurama, _**"Now the Uchiha brat's been taken by an enemy. Hopefully he's not a part of the War Beast's little club."**_

"Hopefully not." Naruto replied back. He turned his attention towards the projectiles that the attacker had used before, a senbon, rarely it was used as a weapon by a Shinobi, and rarer for it to be able to incapacitate someone.

He sighed before he said; "Things have gone south quicker than I expect it to be..."

* * *

><p><em>An unknown amount of time later...<em>

In his state between sudden consciousness after a period of unwanted unconsciousness, Sasuke struggled to open his eyes, feeling rather groggy thanks to whatever happened that caused him to lose all of his energy and fall to the ground like a heap of meat.

And when he saw that he was in an unfamiliar environment, combined with having his hands and feet bound, he knew that he was not in a very safe situation in regards to his life's longevity.

He heard the faint noises of someone tinkering with something, judging by the noises, this person was preparing something, what it was, Sasuke can't exactly determine.

"You're awake." the rather feminine voice stated, her voice felt chilling, there was no emotion behind that voice, just... Sheer indifference. There's not even a hint of malice beneath her tone of voice.

"Who are you?" asked Sasuke.

"That... is a question I should ask you," the voice said, "You are from Konoha. Your forehead protector revealed as much. But the extent of your identity and the reason why you are here escapes me..."

The female figure then walked closer to him and Sasuke could finally see his captor.

Despite the female-sounding voice, the voice belonged to a figure with a rather ambiguous gender, helped by the fact that the figure is masked and the kimono that he or she wore hid several places where one would usually see the physical features that would help identify one's gender, such as breasts.

The masked figure then crouched to his eye-level, "Tell me konoha-nin, what is your purpose here? And who was that person that you were with?"

"...Why do you want to know?"

As a response, his neck was suddenly choked by the figure, Sasuke thought that if this figure was a woman, then her strength was quite remarkable, "I am the one holding your life on the line... answer me truthfully, and I might just let you live."

The figure then released its hold over Sasuke's neck, then the Uchiha answered, "We're... at least, me and my teammate... we were here to investigate the problem in this place."

"Oh?" The figure mouthed out in curiosity.

"A group of jounins had been dispatched from Konoha yesterday, they said they were given a mission to a neighboring country... And my teammate, despite being a genin himself, he-"

"Genin?" asked the female-voiced figure, "With that kind of power, how could he still be a genin?"

Sasuke smirked as he chuckled, "You tell me." he said sarcastically, "Anyway, despite being a genin, he took it on himself to go here and check things out all by himself. I caught him leaving, and I asked him to let me come with him... And now here I am."

"...These jounin that you speak of," the figure began, "How many are there?"

"I don't know. Perhaps five or ten, maybe more but I don't know how many exactly. ...Why?"

There was a moment of silence before the figure stood and said, "I may know why they are here."

"...Do you?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes." the figure nodded before he or she turned its back on Sasuke, "They are here to eliminate someone. Someone that had been terrorizing this country over the past few days and disturbing the economy and prosperity of the people around these parts."

That certainly made sense. But who could be so dangerous that the Hokage would sent several jounins for his death? "...Is it you?"

The figure swiftly turned his or her head towards Sasuke, and Sasuke could feel that the figure was glaring right into his soul. "**No.**" the figure said coldly, "In fact, it means that we share the same goal if it were true. As I too, seek the death of this person, who had killed someone important to me."

Ah, a quest for revenge. Now there's something that Sasuke's rather familiar with. And by proxy, he could understand this person's pain, even if it were just slightly. "Who is this person? And who did he kill?"

The figure was silent before he or she said; "They call him the War Beast... And he murdered my master... One of the greatest swordsman of Kirigakure... Zabuza Momochi."

* * *

><p>After regrouping and having a rendezvous with the one who hired them in the first place, which was Tazuna, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai and the others could be found conversing inside the house that the village leader had provided for them.<p>

"We don't need backups. At least not this soon." one of the jounins argued, "I'm not saying that the War Beast didn't train his underlings well, they did catch us by surprise and they were skilled enough to hurt us, but with the right tactic, we could still surprise him."

"How?" another asked, "You _do _know who we're dealing with right?"

"Bah, I'm sure that whatever his supposed powers are, it's a product of embellishments, there's no way that he was strong enough to lift a mountain by his own strength."

'No, he's certainly not capable of that.' Kakashi thought as the jounins began to argue even more, 'At least, not at that time, and this time, possibly not just a mountain as well.'

Kakashi had heard the stories about the War Beast from his sensei, Minato Namikaze, the 4th Hokage. He had said that he was as strong as the stories that had circulated during the time when he allegedly decimated an army of Kumogakure Shinobi with relative ease.

It surprised his younger self to hear that it was all true. And that his sensei was almost defeated by him in one-on-one combat.

He had said that War Beast's strength was nothing like he had ever seen in his life, the man could theoretically pummel a cliff into a clearing. Though his sensei was laughing and joking when he told him about the War Beast's abilities, he could sense that Minato had some degree of respect and fear for the man.

So when the Hokage sent them to Nami no Kuni to detain the War Beast, he was a bit... apprehensive about the success of the mission.

"Enough!" Asuma said, silencing the arguing jounins, "We will continue the mission without back-up, at least for the moment. However, we will call for back-up if it's proven too much to handle. We are Jounins, ladies and gentlemen, we should not be arguing about something like this. Understood?"

With their nods of affirmation, the situation within the room became a lot less tense.

But knowing who they're up against, Kakashi could only sigh as he laid back and hear his teammates concocting a plan.

* * *

><p>Above in the night sky of Nami no Kuni, a figure could be seen floating in the air, scanning the area in search for someone that he had let out of his sight just once and ended up being kidnapped by a mysterious person.<p>

And whoever this person was, he or she was quite capable in hiding themselves. There was nothing Naruto had done that produced some result in finding out Sasuke's current location.

Despite the small size of Nami no Kuni, unfamiliarity with the environment has proven to be somewhat disadvantageous. Not to mention, the one who kidnapped Sasuke was very proficient in covering his or her tracks.

However, he did make an interesting discovery.

He found War Beast's base. It wasn't an overly large or elaborate one, but it was filled with people and large tents and surrounded by walls made of durable wood, not unlike the small fortress that he had destroyed back in Shirohane. He assumed that all of the people there were his underlings, most of them were just doing their regular activities while some of them were lazing around the camp.

_**"Hm... now where is this infamous man?" **_Kurama asked rhetorically, _**"I doubt that he's among these people... They all look very unimpressive. Not the human that could generate fear and respect from your old man."**_

_"While appearances can be deceiving... I'm afraid that I have to agree with him on this one my son," _Kushina said, _"I don't think that War Beast's among them, considering that they don't exactly have the horse head tattoo... Maybe he's inside the building somewhere."__  
><em>

'Maybe Sasuke's here as well, who knows?' Naruto asked rhetorically.

_**"While the possibility of that is not that little, I doubt that it was the case."**_

'Why?' asked Naruto.

_**"Look at these people. Are they someone capable of performing what you had seen those needles?"**_ asked Kurama.

True, none of them were very Shinobi-like, most of them would be capable of stealth, Naruto thought, but he could not see either one of them had the capability to perform something so very... professional, quiet, subtle, and less raider-like.

'I suppose you're right.' Naruto said, 'Still, that leaves the question, which should I choose first? Sasuke or this camp?' he asked for an opinion.

_"Sasuke." _Kushina said immediately, _"Your teammate comes first. His safety might be compromised and the War Beast is not going anywhere."_

**_"Still, you could perform a surprise attack now."_ **Kurama offered his opinion, _**"The Uchiha boy might be hurt, or he might not, but the fact is that his position remains unknown, I would focus on what I can do right now."  
><strong>_

'...So charge in towards the enemy then?' Naruto asked.

Kurama had to chuckle at that,_** "He really is your flesh and blood Kushina." **_Kurama said to Kushina, as if knowing Naruto's thought process, and therefore, what he's thinking of doing to the bandits below.

He heard his mother sighing exasperatedly, and then he knew that both of them already knew what he's about to do...

And in turn, Naruto faintly smiled as if he were expecting something fun.

* * *

><p>Sasuke did not know what he had done to anger the powers that be for his captor to bring him along as she surveyed the War Beast's base, which looked like a military camp.<p>

When his captor revealed who was the person that he or she intend to kill, he never thought that it would be that fabled War Beast.

His father had told him about this near-mythical figure once, he told him how the fourth Hokage was once defeated in a personal battle between the two of them. Many claimed that the figure aptly named as War Beast had strength that can rip mountains apart, can create a massive crater by the power of his bare hands, and can leap far away with a single bound.

A fairy tale he regarded them as. Even when young, he had always been skeptical about outlandish claims such as those.

But, considering that it was the people of Konoha who spread that story and considering that the fourth Hokage did have an encounter with this person, Sasuke had conceded that there might be some truths to those claims.

And now, depending on how things turn out, he might be able to see this War Beast and his legendary strength up close.

But he couldn't help but ask this to his captor...

"What are we doing here and why did you bring me here?"

His captor was silent, and Sasuke merely sighed, assuming that he wouldn't get his answer. But then...

"You are a bargaining chip," she said, "If I were to offer you to the War Beast and his benefactor, I might get a window that I need to attack him. And if that opportunity was not given and I was found by your village's Shinobi, then I shall trade you for my life."

Sasuke grumbled in response, and that earned him a smack to the head with the back of a kunai.

And that earned his captor another set of unintelligible grumbling, which she proceeded to ignore.

After a minute, they saw someone, or something, landed right in the middle of the War Beast's camp, as if a rock falling from the sky. Well, if the rock could alter the speed of its fall of course. And aided by the relative darkness of the environment, it was as if he appeared out of nowhere.

'...What is that idiot doing?' wondered Sasuke, knowing who it was.

* * *

><p>"Hey! Who the hell is this guy?!" yelled one of the bandits under War Beast's rule as he saw the figure of one Naruto Uzumaki suddenly appeared out of nowhere from his perspective.<p>

"Where the hell did he come from?!"

Naruto, on his part, merely looked around his surroundings, knowing that he was outnumbered. But still keeping his cool. He kept his silence until he was near the largest tent that no doubt housed their leader and then when he was but a few steps away, he was immediately surrounded by his underlings and keeping him from going further.

So he spoke, "I'm here to seek an audience with the War Beast."

That brought a moment of silence before they laughed, "Hey, this guy likes a date with death huh? Let me tell you kid, the leader won't see you just because you ask politely, where the hell are you from anyway?" asked one of the bandits.

"Where I'm from doesn't matter. But I am here to find out why War Beast is harassing the small settlement of Nami no Kuni."

That brought another tense silence, and then, one of the bandits walked to Naruto as he unsheathed his sword, "Ho... so are you one of those Shinobies from Konoha? Now that I look at it, that there is your forehead protector right?" he asked as he pointed his sword at Naruto's headband that he tied to his arm.

Naruto calmly turned his steely gaze towards the approaching bandit and said; "If so, then what are you going to do about it?"

The man smirked rather maniacally, he then placed the sharp edge of the sword to Naruto's cheek and said; "Looking at your lack of flak jacket, you're not a jounin like those who killed some of our brothers, so you must be either a chuunin or a genin... Unarmed, and seemingly without backup too... Outnumbered... and overpowered."

The blonde 'genin' extended his palm towards the man, an action that served him another round of small laugh from the surrounding bandits, "Hehehe... how are you going to ki-"

He was cut off from speaking further as an invisible force hit him right in the stomach with an extreme amount of prejudice, sending him flying towards the forest surrounding the camp, the sound of destroyed trees followed suit...

As did the silence.

Then it was broken by Naruto who said; "Outnumbered? Yes. Overpowered? I don't think so."

The rest of the bandits were riled by what Naruto just did, as a result, some of them moved to attack him while most of them were discouraged from fighting or even taunting the person who just threw one of their brethren with a simple gesture from his hand.

The ones who attacked him would realize later that they were acting out of their fight or flight instinct and was not something that came from the part of their brain responsible for making reasonable decisions.

Without even bothering to turn, Naruto stopped their movements immediately.

He dealt with the bandits by continuous movements of punches and kicks directed right at the bandits. Though he was quite far and as such, was not able to physically hit the bandits, the force of his telekinesis was more than enough to incapacitate them, even outright destroying their body's innards.

Naruto's movements were harmonious, precise, and powerful, he had found out that motions from his physical body helped him amplify his psychokinesis power. Through experiments with his clones, Naruto had found out that if his mind and body were working in a harmonious way would result in a very satisfying outcome.

Movements of the body were as important as utmost concentration of the mind. His mother had advised him that hand-seals were important in performing techniques for a reason, they were something that would aid Shinobi mnemonically to channel their chakra in certain ways. As it turns out, a Shinobi _could _perform a ten hand-seals technique with less or even without hand-seals at all.

Applying this to his psychokinesis ability was relatively simple, though having his Kage Bunshin did help matters even more.

After finishing the seven to ten bandits with unnerving ease, he turned to the fearful bandits who began to back away several steps from him, Naruto then said; "Now will you call the War Beast here?"

Suddenly...

A shocking killing intent came from across the largest tent, a potent killing intent that made the bandits hairs stood on its end and made Naruto rather afraid...

_**"Well, now this should be interesting..." **_Kurama said gleefully.

Then, a figure stepped out of the tent, and it was...

It was a man... Black-colored unkempt short hair, not very buff but densely muscled and quite big in stature. However, some of his most buff subordinates were clearly taller than him.

From his clothing, which consisted of a sleeveless shirt, a rather baggy trousers, and a pair of combat sandals, Naruto could see that his muscles were extremely dense and stood out like a sore thumb.

Judging by his gait, he held himself like how a general would, strong, confident, and last but not least, his gait was filled with dignity.

His expression stern, his gaze steely, and he was altogether calm. And when he got out, the whole camp went silent.

His gray eyes looked at Naruto and he said; "You seek for me?"

Seeing that he was rather tactful, Naruto reciprocated his gesture though he remained wary, "I do." Naruto answered, then his eyes moved from the man's face and into his right shoulder. The tattoo of a horse's head with a flaming mane and eyes was there.

Noticing that, Naruto then said; "You are War Beast then?"

He nodded, "I am." he answered, and then he asked, "Who might you be, young man?"

"I am someone who wants to ask you about the reason why you're here." he answered, "Your presence was enough to lead several of Konoha Shinobies here, and while they want you dead, I only want to meet you in person, find out the reason why you're here along with knowing who you're working for."

"...Is that all you wish from me?" he asked with a challenging tone.

Naruto smiled and his reply was, "...Well, if I have to be honest with you... I am rather... interested in you. Call it a gut feeling that I have."

The War Beast scoffed and said; "Or maybe because I was the one who once fought your father to a draw. No doubt that the son of the Fourth Hokage have heard the stories about myself."

Naruto's smile merely widened as he then said; "That too."

_"He's good." _Kushina had to say.

"So, I assume you are a Namikaze then, yes?"

"I'm of his blood, yes." Naruto answered.

"Hm. But where did you get yourself such a power? I doubt that it came to your father. As strong as he was, he did not have the power to grasp things with his mind." the War Beast then smiled as he raised his hand to stop Naruto from answering, "Do not tell... Let me assume. Hm... Did it came from a stone that glowed blue?"

Naruto's eyes widened, how the hell would he know about that kind of thing?

_**"The hell...?"**_

"Do not be surprised, Namikaze." War Beast replied, "I know of the power that the stone holds... Of what it can give to people strong enough to resist its side effects and reap its gift that it bestows..." his smiled widened as he then said; "You did not think that you're the only one, did you?"

"...How?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowed, "From what I have heard, most of the people who had contact with the stone experienced disadvantageous side effects... There's only one case where it gives beneficial effect, and that is me."

The War Beast's response was to extend his arms to the sides in a welcoming gesture, "Defeat me... And you will know."

Naruto clenched his fist as fear and excitement rose into his head. This person in front of him was no doubt strong if his source of power was from the mysterious stone that gave him psychokinesis.

Did he have the same power that he had? Or was his power entirely different from his? This person was an enigma, in that, unless he attacked him and made him retaliate, Naruto would not know what his power is.

Was he skilled enough in his psychokinesis power to the point that he could rebuff his attacks easily? Or was he just an over-confident man?

_"Naruto, don't waste time assuming, find it out instead." _Kushina said in a worried tone.

Deciding that his mother had the right of it, he cocked his fist back and thrust it towards the War Beast...

It created a massive air pressure that could be likened to a sudden release of a powerfully-condensed air within a large balloon from a single needle-thin hole in the surface, except the same amount of pressure was combined with a large width.

And it was very powerful, as the sheer force of the air pressure managed to destroy the tent that the War beast had came out from, it threw several of his underlings nearby, and it pretty much razed the surrounding area.

However... there were two things that the technique failed to destroy...

One was the base itself as a whole, considering that it was a technique design to decimate a single target and the enemies in its trajectory, not an areal attack, and that the base itself was quite large, it was somewhat understandable.

The thing that he could not understand was...

The War Beast took the full brunt of his attack, all the air pressure that could destroy a common man, and the same air pressure that just utterly destroyed his tent...

And he _survived. Unblemished and unbroken.  
><em>

_**"...Oh gods be damned..."**_

The War Beast smiled widely at that show of power, unlike his underlings who had ran away for safety after seeing what Naruto just did, he looked at Naruto with his steely gray eyes and said; "It was... impressive. I think you managed to hurt me slightly there..."

In his shock, Naruto was not fully-prepared by what's about to happen...

The War Beast placed his right feet a few inches behind, his left arm cocked back, then he said; "Knowing that you have such control over your power, Namikaze... I shall give you the same courtesy."

Then, he _charged._

It wasn't even a second, it wasn't even half a second, a moment he was a few feet in front of Naruto, then the next thing he saw was his fist just a few inches from his face.

* * *

><p>"...What the hell...?!" Sasuke nearly yelled as he saw the one called the War Beast created a crater from a single punch that missed its target, Naruto.<p>

His captor clenched her fist as she spoke, "_That _is the reason why he was called the War Beast... His legendary strength has never been exaggerated, not even once. They are real." she then continued with a sadder tone of voice, "And my master's underestimation cost him his life."

* * *

><p>Naruto <em>barely <em>avoided that dangerous punch, and when he did, he immediately flew himself upwards, not wanting to get near the man whose strength could create a massive crater in the earth as if his fist were an asteroid that fell from outer space.

'Now I see the reason why my father got into a draw...' Naruto remarked.

The War Beast turned to look at the flying figure of Naruto and said; "Remarkable. It seems that our powers are different in terms of application."

Naruto didn't even bother to form a response, as he immediately flew towards War Beast, his fist cocked back, and then he punched his abdomen, the momentum of his velocity combined with his telekinetic force allowed him to mimic War Beast's super strength to a degree.

And it was quite effective.

The War Beast became a projectile that flew across the camp and into the surrounding forest, creating a path of destruction in his wake.

"Not that different, no." Naruto quipped.

There was a moment of tense silence, before the earth shook, as if there was an earthquake, then, with the sound of something dashing through the trail of destruction, the War Beast charged at Naruto with a satisfied smile plastered on his face.

He was too fast. Naruto's mind cannot react as quick as he liked and as such, he wasn't able to avoid him.

So he blocked the oncoming punch with his palm...

And the air trembled.

The strength behind that one punch would shatter the side of a mountain, but Naruto's kinetic barrier absorbed most of it and as such, the reverberation was powerful enough to be felt by those who watched.

The War Beast smiled while Naruto grunted in pain as he tried to push the man's fist away, but his super strength had proven itself to be superior compared to Naruto's telekinetic force.

Using his other hand, the War Beast intended to land an attack on Naruto.

But it was thwarted once more by Naruto who opted to use his telekinesis to withhold his attack without blocking it with his hand.

Acting quickly, Naruto was the one who landed a punch right into the War Beast's head, with the same force that sent him flying the first time...

However, the War Beast merely budged slightly, indicating that he had expected that was coming. And then he headbutted Naruto, making him lose his focus. Then, the War Beast kneed him right in his abdomen, and this time, the blonde was the one who ended up flying not out of his own volition.

As the figure of Naruto went crashing into somewhere else outside the camp, he turned to his cowering subordinates and said; "Pick yourselves up and tidy this place in my absence. I'll be chasing after that Namikaze boy."

And then he leaped.

With a single bound, he leaped so high into the sky as if a projectile fired from a cannon.

* * *

><p><em>"Naruto! Naruto!"<em>

The blonde shook his head and groaned as he picked himself up after he was kicked and sent several yards away due to the strength of his attacker.

But when he managed to stand upright...

He puked out blood, his innards were affected by the War Beast's attack, and as such, he began to lose his focus and it took a serious toll on his consciousness.

'Damn, the kinetic barrier doesn't go fully inside, does it?' Naruto thought as he wiped out the blood on his lips. 'Kurama, a little help here...?'

_**"Grh... Never say that I'm not helpful to you."**_

And already he could feel his organs healing, and he made a mental note to learn how to place his kinetic barrier onto his organs so that this kind of thing won't happen again.

But then, his instincts kicked in, he looked up and saw War Beast up in the air, and coming down unto him like an asteroid that's about to hit the earth.

Despite Naruto's battered condition, he managed to avoid it.

But because he was unable to gather his strength thanks to him taking the full brunt of the War Beast's strength, he was caught in the aftershock of the War Beast's landing that created a crater and as a result, he could barely hold himself together to stand up again.

He noticed that he was near a river, and inwardly, he realized that he could use this as an advantage.

"You are strong, Namikaze." said the War Beast as he calmly walked towards Naruto, "But it seems that you are not unleashing your full capability... Why is that?"

Naruto smiled as he began to control the large body of water with his mind, "Sorry... I'm kind of new to this whole thing. Still figuring out the limits that I could reach."

With a motion of his hand, the water in the river flowed towards the War Beast before he could retaliate due to his surprise at Naruto's ability to do so.

Reminded of the fish that he had once captured inside a globe of water using his power, he applied the same principle to the War Beast. The torrents of water hit the War Beast with such brute force that it actually made him stagger slightly, and then, Naruto wrapped him inside that body of water and shaped it into a sphere, and lift it a few feet from the air.

This time however, he decided to try something new.

With a little push, Naruto created powerful waves within the water itself, adding one factor that could undoubtedly hurt the War Beast besides slowly drowning him. Which was to alter the pressure of the water constantly.

Naruto was taught once by Iruka once, that the amount of pressure on the bottom of the place where a body of water was contained would be different depending on its depth and its volume.

While the globe of water that he's using to contain the War Beast was not big, he could alter the pressure by constantly moving it in different paces every few seconds, effectively disabling him from holding his breath constantly and crushing him inside.

If it was just a minute, then maybe the War Beast could be incapacitated...

But it was not to be.

The War Beast gritted his teeth, his already dense-looking muscles contorted, and then, he extended his hands to the sides before bringing them together by clapping.

The 'clap' created a huge shockwave that would've dispelled the globe of water that surrounded him had Naruto didn't have skillful control over it.

It was undeniably powerful, the shockwave's effect was felt by Naruto even though he was not within the floating globe of water, it was as if a gust of wind suddenly hit him out of nowhere.

And while his hold over the body of water began to weaken, the War Beast held himself far better than a normal man who had been drowned in a large body of water that changed its amount of pressure constantly and chaotically for more than forty-five seconds.

Once again, the War Beast gathered his strength, and this time, when he clapped, it was enough to destroy Naruto's hold over the globe of water and also the water in the process.

The War Beast landed, then he coughed out some water that he had unwittingly swallowed.

However, he was then punched in the face by Naruto, using his fist as the fulcrum of his power, he created a kinetic explosion right on the War Beast's face, and as such, he was promptly sent into the forest that surrounded the river.

Naruto flew towards the man's location, his fists extended towards his front to land a hell of an attack towards the War Beast's body.

The War Beast managed to recuperate slightly from his shaken state before he saw Naruto performing a flying attack that landed right into his abdomen, knocking the air out of him in an instant, the attack sent him flying and destroyed the small cliff that he had landed upon when Naruto performed the previous attack.

Just as Naruto was about to attack him again however, there was a pulse. A disturbance.

His head felt as if it was trampled by a stampede of wild animals. In pain, Naruto clutched his head and groaned. 'Kurama...?! Kurama what the hell's going on?!' he managed to say despite the sudden jolt of pain.

But there was no answer.

Nothing could frighten him more than that fact. But before he could recuperate...

His face met War Beast's incoming fist and due to the amount of force that the War Beast had exerted into that one attack, he was thrown and crashed into several trees before he stopped and had his back to the ground.

He tried to get up, but then, the pain that came from an unknown source and the pain that came from the previous attack hit him once more. This time, it wasn't just his head, the pain was spread throughout his whole body and rendering him unable to move.

He heard the sound of someone coming closer, and he found the one called the War Beast, approaching closer and closer, his expression was as stern as it could be...

This was it. This was his end. There's no way out of this now...

At least, that's what Naruto thought...

...

As the War Beast was about to grab him and finish him, a mist suddenly appeared, blocking War Beast's vision.

'Hm... This is _his _technique.' he thought before he clapped his hand once more to create another shockwave that blasted some of the mists away.

The mist was quite... durable. The War Beast had encountered this technique once, Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu (Water Release: Hidden in Mist Technique) was its name, the swordsman from where the technique's name originated used this in his fight with him.

Of course, this didn't help him defeat the War Beast.

Once again, he clapped, and this time, the mist did disappear...

Along with the Namikaze boy.

Someone had taken him. Who it was, he could decipher. Why that person did it was not a mystery to him either.

"Hm." he mouthed out, "So Zabuza Momochi's tool saved him, huh? Well... the boy's still weak anyway. Killing him now wouldn't be something to be satisfied with."

As he turned and walked back towards his camp, he couldn't help but think that the Namikaze boy was quite a formidable opponent with a power that was similar to his own and with as much potential as his own as well.

How the boy got that power, he already knew. But how would he become more powerful than now, was the matter of importance.

Because he had caught his interest. As the boy was his complete opposite. If the boy were using his power outwardly, then he was using his power inwardly.

Application of physical control or force without physical interference. Intangible energy similar to kinetic energy contained within one's body directed outwardly. That's the Namikaze boy's power.

However, with the War Beast, his own energy was directed inwardly. Application of force to one's physical body.

Hence, his enhanced strength, durability, and speed. The glowing stone's gift of power was varied, but the basics were still the same.

"Hm... Never had been this excited ever since I was forced to a draw by his father... Let's see if you can match your old man's power the next time we meet, junior." his smile then turned rather solemn as he said; "Hope you can do what your father failed to do so many years ago."

* * *

><p>"...Who are you?" asked Naruto as he was carried by a masked shinobi on his or her back.<p>

"Someone who saved you." the female-voiced Shinobi answered. "You were able to fight the War Beast on even ground... Only few can say that proudly... Who are you?"

"Naruto... Uzumaki Naruto." he answered, the pain still there but lessened somewhat, "Thanks for savi-"

The blonde suddenly felt something dripping from his nose, he touched the liquid, and saw that it was blood. Then a second later, he received a jolt in his head that created an excruciating feeling of pain that forced him to grit his teeth to bear the agony.

Noticing this, the masked Shinobi said; "What's the matter?"

"I don't know, it's been happening ever since-"

Then, it came again, and he had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from screaming. But he did groan out of agony.

"Hang in there! I'll get you to my hideout and I'll see to your condition. Just bear it for now, alright?"

Naruto didn't even hear what she said, his mind barely withstood the barrage of pain that spread across his body. He gripped the masked Shinobi's shoulder tightly as he refused to scream and pass out.

However painful the agony was and no matter how long this pain attacks would continue, he would have to stay awake during this whole ordeal.

Because he was afraid that if he closed his eyes and lose his consciousness, then he could easily lose his life in the process...

* * *

><p><strong>End of Chapter 5<strong>

* * *

><p>I'll see you at the next chapter. This story is coming to a close, folks. Let the countdown begin.<p>

5.


	7. Chapter 6: The Recuperation

**Disclaimer: **Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: The Recuperation.<br>**

* * *

><p>Naruto felt as if his body were completely doused with molten rock.<p>

The indescribable pain could be described best as such, for Naruto could not even feel anything else but the agony.

How the hell did this happen, he had wondered before his mind had shut itself off in an attempt to 'escape' the pain...

And it was the least of his worries...

Because the extent of the danger that he was in could not be compared to what one Kushina Uzumaki was experiencing as of this moment.

...

**"GRRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"**

Kushina tried to keep herself calm despite facing the berserk form of Kurama, who's currently being restrained by her Chakra Chains and kept inside the Chakra Barrier that she had made due to an unknown factor that had agitated, warped, pained and enraged him to the point where he delved into the state of mindless anger.

She had tried asking him what was wrong, but in his state, he could not even speak or form coherent thought to reply to her questions.

'What the hell is going on...?!' she thought as she struggled to keep Kyuubi at bay.

Meanwhile, she also couldn't help but worrying her son's well-being. Whatever it was that had happened, Kyuubi's situation must be affecting Naruto's physical body in some way or form, but knowing that there's nothing that she could do except to contain the Kyuubi, she focused on the situation at hand.

She could only hope that Naruto could get through this unscathed, no matter how impossible it may seem...

* * *

><p>"It's not working..." muttered the masked Shinobi known as Haku as she was tending to one Naruto Uzumaki.<p>

Despite his tenacity, the blonde boy went unconscious when she managed to bring him to her hideout. She had ordered his teammate, the... Uchiha boy, to be her assistant in an attempt to find what's troubling him and how to heal it as quick as possible.

But it had proven to be futile, as when she began to analyze his body, there was nothing that could indicate the problem. At least, initially...

Because then, the mark on the boy's stomach began to glow red. Afterwards, his veins began to bulge, but the scariest thing that truly unnerved Haku... was the fact that his veins were glowing red.

"What the hell's happening to him?!" asked the Uchiha boy, Sasuke his name was, visibly worried about his teammate's well-being.

"I assume you would know, considering that you are his teammate." Haku replied, "But it seems that there are things that had been kept secret... Just what is he? What kind of man could do something like that?"

"I don't know. One day, our graduation day was delayed because one of our teachers... I can't remember his name, turned out to be a traitor that stole some kind of restricted documents or something. Then a few days later, he came into the class looking very different after just a few days... Whatever happened to him, I do not have any clue. Nor do I have any damn clue as to why he's in pain right now." Sasuke answered.

"Then that makes the matter of healing him more complicated." Haku replied back.

"...Not that I'm... undermining your effort to heal him..." Sasuke began as he looked towards Haku with suspicion, "But what's your angle in this? _Why_ do you want him to recuperate when it's clear you're not affiliated with Konoha?"

Before Haku could answer, Sasuke asked one more question that silenced her, "Is it because you're hoping that he would be able to fight that War Beast and kill him the next time they fight?"

It was a moment of tense silence, it was so oppressive of a feeling that the tension could be cut with a knife, or so a certain proverb said.

Sasuke might only have a few days with the Naruto that was no longer the loud, annoying little kid that he used to be, but he had proven to be someone whom he could get along with. Mostly due to the fact that he no longer speak as loudly as he could be every chance he got.

So even if it was just a little, he was hoping that he could be healed from... Whatever it was that was plaguing him.

"...Regardless of my motives." Haku finally said while inwardly, she couldn't help but be annoyed that the Uchiha boy was able to correctly deduce her reasoning very quickly, "I am here to help him. Isn't that what matters?"

For a few moments, Sasuke didn't say anything to rebut or approve what the masked Shinobi just said, but finally, his shoulder slumped slightly as he turned his head slightly away from her while saying; "...Then is there anything that I could do to help?"

"...For now? Nothing." she answered, "To be more exact, none of us could do anything to ease his condition, let alone heal him. So you and I are both useless here. As much as I hate to say it."

The masked Shinobi shook her head before she took off her mask, revealing a feminine-looking face that made Sasuke more inclined to believe that the Shinobi was indeed, a woman.

He also noticed that she looked rather young, perhaps as young as girls his age. But he also knew that compared to _them, _she was a much more competent kunoichi than those of his age.

Her capability to stealthily incapacitate him from out of nowhere and her ability to summon a thick, wide mist without any large source of water nearby was the proof that she was very well-trained _and _talented.

He couldn't help but to be somewhat impressed by her skills.

"His fate is not in our hands." said Haku, "The best thing we can do now is to watch him closely."

* * *

><p>Naruto, on his part, realized that he had gone unconscious despite his painful attempts to stay awake.<p>

This realization was lamented by Naruto at first when he realized what happened, but afterwards, he decided that it had become moot and so he moved on to other things...

One of which was to try and figure out where the hell he was.

If he was unconscious like he had suspected, then it would mean that he's on his subconscious... But his subconscious hadn't been in the form of the village of Konoha the last time he was here, so it would mean that his subconscious had also taken a toll from the mysterious pains that he had been having.

Although, judging by the appearance of the village, particularly the stone faces that watched over it, he assumed that he's in a different version of Konoha...

Most likely, he was in the version of Konoha that was a few years before his birth, seeing that the number of the faces that adorned the cliff was just three instead of four.

The Fourth Hokage, or Minato Namikaze, was not the leader of the village at this time, at least not yet.

And if so...

'Hm... maybe I'm in his memories or something?'

Suddenly, he heard the sound of children laughing and their footsteps echoing as they ran towards his location.

Turning his head, he saw that it was like what he had heard, a group of children, possibly at the age where they were starting their lesson in the Academy or even already in the middle of it, running rather happily while playing with each other.

And he could see that his father was among these children. A young Minato Namikaze, as innocent as a six-year old child would be, and playing around with kids his age.

He saw them passing him by, physically, as in, they passed right through him as if he weren't there at all and was just like a ghost of some sort.

More proof that he was indeed, an astral-like being inside the memory of his father's doppelganger.

At least for the moment.

He decided to follow his father, to see what kind of life he had when he was at his age... Most likely not being ostracized by the villagers through the virtue of being Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki, but still, he's curious enough to know the details, the specifics.

And who knows? Perhaps the answer as to why his body had been in so much pain was here somehow, somewhere...

So he followed them...

Never noticing that there was another pair of eyes watching close by... The person whom the pair of red eyes belonged to did not watch the kids nor the seemingly real objects around him, but he was watching the one who was not supposed to exist here.

That is, one Naruto Uzumaki.

* * *

><p>Seeing his father as a young child was quite a surreal feeling for Naruto.<p>

His father's demeanor was not like his own, where he was once a rather loud and annoying kid, his father was calm, collected, and was more adult-like compared to those of his age. He was acting quite beyond his years...

Not too surprising, considering that he knew that his father's demeanor had 'rubbed' off on him in the most literal way possible, but it was still rather strange to see what he really was like in person.

However, there was somebody else whom Naruto paid his attention to besides his father.

He turned towards the location where a certain red-headed girl was sitting beneath a tree. His mother, Kushina Uzumaki, were rather distant to her friends, he assumed that it's her early days in Konoha or something, she had said to him that she was a refugee of Uzushiogakure, one of Konoha's main allies during the old days before their untimely destruction.

'Perhaps she's still feeling awkward being in a new environment?' Naruto half-asked half-wondered.

Then, he saw one of the children beginning to whisper to one of his friends while pointing to his mother. His father noticed this, and Naruto could see that he's also wondering what they were talking about.

But unlike his father, he could see that these boys wanted to harass her.

He had seen those gleeful looks before... He then began to walk towards the boys, but midway, he realized that he could do nothing to prevent what was happening, after all, he's just a manifestation of a persona inside someone else's memory.

So he watched as the boys walked to his mother, began teasing her about many things, one of which was her hair and her rather pudgy face.

Naruto's closer inspection made him think that his mother's face was indeed pudgy. And depending on the angle, the shape and the color of her hair would make one think of a tomato.

When he heard one of the boys said this to her however, his mother's eyes changed.

What could be considered as meek and/or impassive gaze from before was gone and she replaced it with anger.

Then, without even waiting for another jab at her physical appearance, he saw his mother lashed out at the bullies that surrounded her. Violently.

Naruto couldn't help but to be impressed. Now he knew where his hard-headedness came from. The tenacity in which his mother fought off the bullies would help cover the fact that her fighting skill was rather lacking.

Not to mention the fact that she knew where a guy would feel the most pain and exploit it rather liberally.

Needless to say, that she was then stopped by one of the supervising teacher who had to hit her hard in the head to stop her bloody rampage.

Naruto whistled as he said; "Go mom.", as he procured an amused smile on his face.

He turned back to his father, and he could see from behind his father's blue eyes a feeling of awe as he looked at his mother.

Naruto's smile got wider as he said; "And so the calm, smart boy meets the energetic, hard-headed, and wild girl..." he remarked, as if narrating a story, "And as such, the feeling called love was born in his heart... (chuckles)... Never knew that my parents' love story was this interesting."

Then suddenly, the world flickered, as if a mirage, an illusion of an oasis in a desert that dispersed whenever one tried to get closer.

But before he was transported into what he assumed to be another memory fragment of his father's, he heard someone speaking...

_"Having fun?"  
><em>

He turned towards the source of the voice... And found no one.

_"Such a thing this is, huh? Minato and Kushina were still young... He's not the mighty Yondaime Hokage that you know just yet... and she's just a close relative of my first Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Mito."_

_"But do not forget_ why _you're here... Naruto."_

"...Why exactly am I here anyway, Kurama?" Naruto asked the familiar voice though not seeing the large fox that he had been familiar with over the past few days, "What's wrong with me?"

_"It's an unprecedented reaction that was caused by the interaction between my energy and the energy given to your body by the Crystal." _Kurama's disembodied voice answered, _"Your body had become so used to the energy given by the Crystal that when I tried to modify your body slightly, such as my attempt to regenerate your wounds even quicker, the energy began to... seep in."  
><em>

"...Don't tell me that it's trying to usurp you or something similar." Naruto said apprehensively.

_"Well... in a way." _Kurama conceded, _"It's endangering my existence and your life to say the least. But not only that, it's trying to absorb my powers into you as well."_

"Ah. So that explains why my body felt like it was being set on fire." Naruto remarked.

_"Quite." _Kurama said, _"Now, while my body, that is, the manifestation of myself within your seal is going berserk due to the effects of the Crystal's energy... I am trying to find a way to... compromise, to say it bluntly. It is inevitable that the absorption process will happen no matter my attempts to negate it. But I can tone it down slightly, preserving my existence in a way that I can achieve full power after a certain amount of time."_

"But with the payment being... You're going to stay in a much weaker form during that time."

_"Correct. However, this brings another problem."_

"Such as the side-effects of having your energy seeping into my body instead of being sealed and the fact that your manifestation is troubling my mother, who is no doubt trying to quell your raging form?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

_"Along with the process of amalgamating Minato's doppelganger's essence being quicker that it used to be due to the turbulence of energy. This sequence of memories is a proof that this is happening right before your very eyes."_

Naruto's right eye twitched as he then said... "...Well, one more life-changing transformation sequence won't bring the end of the world, I suppose." he tried to rationalize.

_"Still pretty damn annoying though." _

Naruto could just picture the cheeky grin on Kurama's face, even though his physical form was nowhere to be found.

And as Minato's memory fragment from his doppleganger began to form another place that he had seen before in his lifetime, Naruto remarked; "There is that..."

_"We got some time however... enough for me to explain the situation. Whether it's what you see here, or what's happening with your body. So you can relax." _said Kurama before a figure manifested itself through the empty space...

And Naruto's eyes widened at what seemed to be Kurama's new form.

* * *

><p>A single eye watched over the construction of the bridge that would connect Nami no Kuni to the Hi no Kuni governed by Konoha, an eye that belonged to a Konohagakure Shinobi named Kakashi Hatake, the scarecrow.<p>

He hadn't slept in the past few hours, especially after the sound of destruction that came from the deep within the forests. The sounds of a brief but massive battle.

It must've been War Beast, Kakashi had thought. His legendary strength was used against an unknown enemy, an enemy that was not from the side of Konoha nor from the villagers of Nami no Kuni's side.

Tazuna was quite hopeful. He had hoped that the bandit leader, the large, strong man named War Beast was beaten, and they could rebuild the bridge again so that they would have easier access to the Hi no Kuni and its surroundings, and vice versa.

But Kakashi had doubts that that was the case. So he remained on guard, knowing that unless he found out that it was true that the War Beast had been defeated by an unknown third party, there was no reason to be relaxed.

Asuma knew this, and so he had ordered some of the Jounins to scout the proximity and some others to find out what had caused the disturbance in the first place while the rest, which were the ones most capable in combat, stayed to protect the village, including Kakashi.

He had been vigilant, Kurenai hadn't seen him leaving his post even once, and she also didn't see him with his book that he used to read all the time whenever and wherever he was.

Rarely had she seen Kakashi this serious.

Then, one of the jounins that was sent to scour the area returned, and Kakashi greeted him with; "So what did you find out?" he asked.

"We found War Beast's base." answered the jounin, "A few miles away from here, a large camp, similar in layout to an army camp. Presumably close to two-hundred bandits are making that place home, including the War Beast."

"Good. Keep a watchful eye on that area, do not engage unless provoked, and if you see the War Beast, you escape_. _At all cost, understood?" Kakashi ordered, when the Jounin nodded, he continued, "And what about the disturbance last night?"

"Well... while the source is still unknown, there were evidences that support the theory that that someone fought the War Beast." the Jounin said, "And while we're still on that topic, the War Beast looked kind of... worn out. Just slightly."

"...Are you sure?" asked Kakashi, as if not believing the Jounin.

"I know the symptoms, Hatake-san. His enemy or enemies managed to fight him into slight exhaustion." the Jounin insisted.

"...Hm. Very well. Did Asuma wanted to relay something for me or Kurenai?"

"He said to keep the village safe." the Jounin answered, "And that I should return when I finished my rendezvous with you guys."

Without another word, the Jounin used Shunshin no Jutsu to return to his comrades who were scouting the proximity of the village.

With that business dealt with, Kakashi turned his watchful eye towards the half-done bridge once more.

But this time, Kurenai, who happened to be in the proximity of his presence, asked him, "Have you met this War Beast character before, Kakashi?"

He turned towards Kurenai, and said; "No. Despite that, most of the things that I know about him came from the one who knew him rather personally."

Knowing his teacher, Kurenai then rhetorically said, "Yondaime Hokage." to which, Kakashi nodded, "What did he have to say about him?"

"That he's a man to be feared." Kakashi answered, "But along with that, he also said that he's a misunderstood man. However, that matters not now, does it? If he's attacking this village, then we have to defeat him. At all cost."

"...This unnerves me Kakashi."

He raised his eyebrows and said; "What? The mission?"

"No. This." she said as she gestured to all of him, "I'm used to seeing you as the uncaring and nonchalant person that you always appear to be, so this... feels somewhat unnerving."

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask, the creases were somewhat visible to Kurenai, and he said, "Glad I have that effect on you."

One of Kurenai's eyes twitched as she heard that, "What does that suppose to mean?" she asked with an annoyed tone of voice.

Kakashi chuckled and said; "Calm down Kurenai. It's just to show you that I can be serious whenever I want to. Have you forgotten that we attended the same Academy in our childhood? I've always been a serious person if you took notice of me back then." then his tone of voice became more solemn as he said; "...It's not until the you-know-what happened that I... you know."

Kurenai's expression softened as she realized what he was talking about, the death of his teammate, Obito Uchiha. Which, now that she thought about it, was the start of his streak of laziness and tardiness that he had carried on from his fallen friend ever since.

"I apologize." Kurenai immediately said, knowing that she had brought Kakashi some unpleasant memories, "It's not my intention to-"

"-Remind me." Kakashi said with a more restrained smile, "Don't worry about that. I know that you didn't mean to."

Kurenai smiled as he nodded. Then as Kakashi turned his head to oversee the bridge's construction again, Kurenai followed suit, fully intending to keep her focus on the mission that had been given.

* * *

><p><em>"Ah, this is the moment that your mother always rattle on about when she became my Jinchuuriki." <em>Kurama remarked as he saw the figure of young Minato Namikaze holding the equally young Kushina Uzumaki, _"She had been quite the fangirl back then... Only, time managed to erode that away from her."  
><em>

"Hm. Interesting." Naruto said, though he didn't sound very interested at all.

After all, his eyes were focused upon Kurama.

Whose form was quite a feast for sore eyes.

Kurama, in response to what Naruto said, turned to him, and saw that the blonde's blue eyes was filled with amusement and his fist was covering his lips so that he could hold in his laugh, _"Kit, you look at me that way again, I'll kill you."_

Naruto cleared his throat and said; "Right. Right. Sorry." he said the apologizing part with a slight smirk.

...

Then, he couldn't help himself from keeping his laugh any longer and burst out into a wholehearted laugh that would've made a few people turn their eyes to look at him with varying degrees of confusion if there were anyone nearby.

One of Kurama's eye twitched, he was tempted to do something to shut the boy up, and within the span of a few seconds, he made a decision.

Which was to hardly launch his small form and headbutted him right in his forehead.

_"Stop laughing you damn brat!" _He yelled as mightily as he could, but the deep voice didn't fit his new form, which was the form of a small fox that resembled his usual self, except with just the one tail instead of nine.

Naruto merely rubbed the spot that had been hit by Kurama, as that didn't stop him from laughing, "Sorry. Sorry. It's just... unexpected. That's all."

_"Grr... I'm this close on actually killing you Kit. Here I am trying to make as if nothing's different and you don't even have the courtesy to acknowledge it."  
><em>

"I'm sorry but... Have you _seen _you?" Naruto asked incredulously.

_"...Point." _Kurama conceded with a grunt, knowing that he looked fluffy and cuddly instead of scary and imposing.

Naruto sighed, feeling the amusement washing away from him. "Well, sorry about that, I just didn't expect what I was about to see." he said, "So, while you were trying to alter the course of the conversation by commenting on my father's daring rescue of my mother, when will you tell me the reason why this thing happened in the first place?"

Kurama actually grinned at that, the blonde copy of the Yondaime Hokage was taking on his father's analytical capability on an alarming rate, and it showed, _"Well... for starters, it turns out that I have severely underestimated the energy that came from that Crystal. Its energy was something that I had never interacted with before, but I thought that my abundance of energy that I have would be enough to quell whatever influence it might have on me, but..."  
><em>

"It didn't, did it?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

_"In a way." _Kurama said as the scene around them began to change again, _"Mito's husband was right to destroy them... The amount of power it can give to someone is indescribable."_

"...Do I sense some regret from you, Kurama?" asked Naruto.

_"No. Just... disappointment. Disappointment from my lack of foresight about the extent of the Crystal's true power and how it brought me to this. Regretting giving you that kind of power is not something that would come up anytime soon."_

"Why so? I mean, in this way, I could become a more powerful entity that could be likened to you."

_"Because you're an interesting person. More so than my previous hosts, including your mother." _Kurama answered, _"The scale of this kind of power, depending on who's wielding it, could bring some great changes towards the world as a whole."_

"The world's progress hinges on those kinds of people after all."

_"Ah, spoken like your father's son. Or in this case, spoken like your father's twin copy."_

Naruto scoffed, "Considering the memories I'm currently absorbing and his traits that had already seeped through me, if I were conceived from a tube through some experiment involving his DNA, then that saying would be considered as less than sarcasm but more as the truth."

Kurama grimaced at that, knowing that more and more traces of the boy known as Naruto Uzumaki was lost in such a short time and his father's doppelganger either replaced or modified them entirely.

This, as Kurama and Kushina had suspected beforehand, was an identity crisis of a higher class compared to mere disorientation of the knowledge of one's self, as Naruto was aware of the whole thing and had no problem with his change.

Despite the fact that his lack of gripe with the changes might come from the amalgamation process itself.

It's a very circular conundrum... He realized what was happening, and he rationalized that it was inevitable and to let it happen. But, Kurama knew that that was how his father would act if something similar happened to him, and as such, it could be said that his rationalization came from his father's essence that influenced his thoughts instead of it coming from his own thought process.

And the problematic amalgamation process was on its last stages. The 'Naruto' that Kurama had seen before he interacted with the Crystal was all but lost to the world and now a new 'Naruto' had emerged... One that was a combination of himself and his father with some new traits that was not from both of them popping up.

_'Ah... there's no stopping this from happening anyway... Might as well let Kushina accept the fact that he would have none of her traits due to this.' _Kurama thought.

"How powerful am I going to be? To what extent can my power be used after this?" Naruto asked.

_"To tell you the truth, I can only assume. I don't rightly know the exact measurements, but I can give you a slight idea." _Kurama answered before he grinned, _"Which I doubt you will need anyway."_

Naruto blinked at Kurama, before he gazed towards nowhere in particular, blinked twice and then smiled, as if something had clicked inside his mind, "Yeah. I don't need to be told the general idea."

_'As expected. He's absorbed a large portion of his father's intelligence after all.' _Kurama thought to himself.

"So... ...Hm. How's my mother doing right now?" asked Naruto, who looked worried.

_"...She might have some hard time with my form. She's capable, that's for certain but... The possibility of her being overwhelmed is still quite high..."_

Naruto stood up, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's help her."

_"I can't." _Kurama said.

Naruto turned to him, his gaze seemed to analyze the small Bijuu for a few seconds before he said; "Because you will be engulfed within your own raging form if you returned." he deduced.

Kurama nodded, _"Your help is sorely needed however."_

"Hm... If you're not coming, then at least tell me what I should do." Naruto asked.

_"You need to help your mother quell my body's rage. Use your powers, they will help you. While you do that, I shall be here and easing the process of melding these memories to your mind. Null the inevitable side-effects that would hit you when you wake up. I'll return whenever I could manage to do so." _Kurama explained.

Naruto nodded in response, he was about to do whatever he needed to go to his mother but stopped midway when he realized...

_"You don't even know how to get there, don't you?" _Kurama asked incredulously.

"...Mind helping me out?" Naruto asked sheepishly, which was replied with a sigh from the now-small Bijuu.

* * *

><p>"Someone... fought with you toe-to-toe... and he managed to <em>hurt <em>you."

The War Beast simply nodded, knowing that the man's feeling of disbelief was justified. "He's not just a simple Shinobi. Despite how young and inexperienced he is, he has much potential."

"I don't care about his damn potential! What I want to know is how the hell could he hurt you?!"

One of War Beast's eye twitched nigh-imperceptibly, truly, his contractor didn't have any interest besides money and his own welfare. It was because of the fact that he had followers to feed and pay... As for him? He would be content as long as his men are happy. He could sustain himself well enough.

"He had a power similar to mine. Different in application but similar in its roots." answered the War Beast. "If it worries you so much, he managed to hurt me when I was in my weakest moment. In a short time, I shall be able to tap into my full capability and he would not be a problem."

However, he inwardly said to himself, 'That is unless if the Namikaze boy managed to get himself stronger during the same time-frame. Somewhat unlikely, but still had to be considered as a possibility.'

"I hope so." the man said, "I paid you more than I'm used to because of your legendary invincibility and that you're able to defeat my previous right-hand man, and I expect nothing less of a perfection from you. So let this be the one and only time something like this happen. You got me?"

"I understand, Gato." War Beast said, masking his displeasure in mentioning the man's name, the so-called businessman whose dealings with the corrupt and seedy underworld were quite known amongst the population of Nami no Kuni.

"Good. Now get out and tend to your men or whatever the hell you want to do." said the well-suited businessman as he waved his hand dismissively.

War Beast merely turned his back on Gato, not even bothering to deign himself to bow to the man and just leave the premises as quickly as he possibly could.

He had to stomach dealing with the man due to the fact that he was the one who paid his men, if not for that, well, even _he _won't be lenient in destroying him completely.

His men had been approached by this Gato when they were camping nearby the settlement of Shirohane due to the rebellious former subordinate of his, Genma Inoki. The one who had called for some of the more... greedy of his men and said that with him, they could get more money.

War Beast allowed him and those who wanted to follow Genma, after all, he had never asked them to follow him in the first place.

The life of a bandit leader came when he murdered the previous one when the said bandit leader were in a drunken fit of violence and he was nearby and saw it as fitting to finish his streak of violent beatings.

They have a saying; 'You keep what you earn.', and that meant he must replace him as the leader.

He had vehemently refused. But after seeing how a group of bandits in disarray could bring a lot more trouble than the ones who're organized, he decided that the burden might as well be placed upon him.

Under his rule, the bandits were a lot more regularized, they will not pillage, but they will only take what they need and they take it without lethal force, and for that he was more than willing to use the image of his symbol, the Burning War Horse, to make them listen and surrender without any fighting involved if possible.

But after he allowed his former subordinate, Genma Inoki, to form his own company under his own set of rules, the number of his men were quite thin and so they searched for a client willing to pay them to do something.

And that was when the War Beast found himself enrolled in Gato's payroll.

Though they were paid well, the first task that he was ordered by that man was to prove himself. And for that reason, he was pitted against someone that had already worked with the man before he came along.

That man's name was Zabuza Momochi, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the wielder of the Kubikiribouchou, the massive cleaver-like blade that had tasted a lot of blood...

But it had failed when he used it against him.

Zabuza knew of him, Zabuza knew of his reputation, and Zabuza had been thrilled when the chance to fight the legendary outlaw named War Beast had come...

And Zabuza was killed because he overestimated himself. He didn't take War Beast as seriously as he's supposed to, playing around with him in the first few seconds of the game by using his Mist Technique and taunted him by listing off the body parts that he could attack.

Of course, his mist was quickly dispelled with a clap of his hands and when he found his location, the War Beast waste no time in killing the swordsman, showing that his arrogance and underestimation of the War Beast's ability had been the cause of his death.

Though most of Zabuza's subordinates had no quarrel with the change of leadership, there was one person whom he had to subdue before she could kill him out of vengeance.

Haku was her name, a girl, masquerading as a young man. A ridiculous lie to be believed, especially when one can smell the difference in the scent that she had exuded.

Though she wished to kill him, he decided to let her go, let this vengeance be her reason to live, and that she can challenge him whenever and wherever she wanted to.

She immediately left, her eyes back then promised a lifetime of pain to be inflicted upon War Beast, but he merely kept it in his memory, not fearing her eventual arrival, but actually expecting it.

How she would get stronger, how she would be able to defeat him, it had been somewhat amusing to think about...

That is, before that Namikaze boy managed to hurt him.

Invincible. That was the adjective word that had been frequently used by many people who knew him, including his subordinates.

But that boy... Their similar yet different power allowed him to actually manage to bruise him slightly.

That fact alone brought tingling feeling on his spine, he might be able to defeat him if he managed to get stronger than that...

And it seemed that that Haku girl helped him, no doubt after watching their battle from afar. Perhaps she sought that boy to avenge Zabuza for her? If so, then he will be quite disappointed at her lack of perseverance... But he hadn't been putting a lot of hope into the possibility of that girl becoming stronger than him anyway.

But for that boy... He's very hopeful that it will happen. Considering that he got his power from the glowing stone, he had little doubt that it would happen shortly.

Sooner or later, the boy had to finish what his father had started upon that blood-soaked battlefield years ago. This feeling of being close to death... it was a thirst that he wish to quench... To fulfill.

* * *

><p>Kushina gritted her teeth as she felt her hold over Kurama weakening by the second, the berserk form of the Nine-tailed Fox was undoubtedly relentless in his attempt to break free of Kushina's grasp.<p>

And while the Uzumaki woman was quite proud of her skills in taming a Bijuu, she could barely be compared to Hashirama, and as such, she was not prepared for a prolonged struggle against the clearly angered Bijuu.

'What the hell is going on here...? Why isn't he letting up?' she questioned constantly, wishing that she would get her answers soon.

When Kurama was helping Naruto regenerating his wounds, she saw his form suddenly flickered, as if a mirage in a desert, before his eyes and fur began to glow red and yellow respectively. Then he procured a fury-filled roar that indicated his mindless status.

Having the knowledge of how to subdue a Bijuu, and having the experience of facing him when he was in his angered state, even though it would only be slightly effective, she had taken action the very second Kurama began to unleash his abundant energy towards his surroundings.

She didn't exactly expect that she would have to do it again so soon and so sudden with barely a warning.

"God damn it, what's wrong with you, huh?!" she asked the Kurama, only to get a defiant roar in return.

"He's not in control of himself, mother."

Turning towards the sound of Naruto's voice, she saw her son gazing towards the form of Kurama, "Naruto! Thank goodness you're alright." she exclaimed in relief.

"Only a little bit, mother." Naruto answered rather sheepishly, "That is, if Kurama's rampage continues, then I suppose all of use wouldn't be alright."

She turned to the chained Bijuu, in her relief, she almost relinquished her hold over him and let him broke free.

In response, she gritted her teeth as she amplified her effort to keep the Fox at bay, she said to Naruto, "Where have you been son? How do you know that he's not in control?"

"I got carried towards the deepest corners of my mind." Naruto began, "But he was there as well, at least, the saner part of himself. He's sent me here to help you, I know what I can do to calm him down."

Kushina flashed a wide grin, "Then do it son. I can't keep holding him any longer, do what you have to do, now!"

Naruto acted quickly, he dashed with an incredible speed towards the Bijuu, he jumped and land on the Fox's head, then he placed his hand upon the beast's brow and closed his eyes.

Remembering the occasion when he, his team, along with Team 10 were tasked to capture a certain wily cat, he infiltrated the mind of the enraged Bijuu. He felt the familiar feeling of plunging into a deep abyss, with nothing to see, to grasp, or to hear...

Until he forced himself to. Forcing his mind to synchronize with the Bijuu in order for him to understand his mind and he, him.

With the cat, he just had to enforce his will upon the tiny little beast and it listened. Its mind was simplistic, raw, full of primal instincts and easy to control.

Kurama's mind was nothing of the sort.

Perhaps it was due to his rage, but Naruto could only feel the chaotic turmoil that was the chakra beast's mind, and in turn, the chaos set its sight upon his mind and attacked it out of blind, merciless wrath.

But the barrier of his own mind was quite enough to withstand the psionic barrage of Kurama's mind, no doubt the work of the Crystal that gave him this power in the first place.

Telepathy. The ability that, at a first glance appeared similar to the Shintenshin no Jutsu that the Yamanaka clan had. But in reality, it was quite different, one of the difference being that he didn't need to release his soul in order to enforce his will upon the minds of others.

Despite not using it enough time to make it as diversely powerful as his psychokinesis, he forced this particular power to quell Kurama's rage.

It was an arduous struggle. The power that Naruto held was being contested by Kurama's resilience. In the end, it was due to his mental fortitude and perseverance that Naruto eventually managed to suppress the wrath of the chakra-constructed beast and released him from his externally-induced rage.

Kurama's berserk form flickered back and forth, as if not sure of what to do or what form it should take, before it finally changed into its usual form that Kushina and Naruto was familiar with, only with his eyes rolled backwards, and as a result, his eyes only showed their white-colored scleras.

Naruto breathed out a sigh of relief as he jumped down from Kurama's prone form.

Kushina came over to Naruto and began to examine him, "Are you okay Naruto? Are you hurt in anyway? Did that take too much out of you?" she asked rapidly out of worry.

"I am alright mother." Naruto answered, "I might need a little rest, but other than that, I'm fine."

This time, his mother hugged him and muttered out of sheer relief, "Thank goodness..."

Naruto smiled faintly as he patted his mother's back, "There's no need to worry, but thanks for that nonetheless." he said.

"Well of course I was worried!" Kushina replied rather hotly, "I'm your mother, I think I'm entitled to worry about your well-being, Naruto." she said in a reprimanding tone of voice.

"No doubt about it." Naruto replied evenly, yet with a smile, "Now, Kurama is-"

The humming sound that was made by Kurama's prone body made Kushina and Naruto turn towards him, and they saw that his form began to shrink and shrink...

Until he was no larger than six feet tall, compared to his previous stature, the sudden shrink in height was rather disconcerting to Kushina.

But to Naruto, who had already known about what happened to Kurama, was unperturbed by this event, "N-Naruto, why did he become so small?" Kushina asked.

Naruto turned to his mother and said; "Something that's related to my power messed him up a bit. He's on his recovery mode right now, that's why he's so small, he's not at his full power as of now."

The small form of Kurama slowly opened his eyes, and groaned as he began to pick himself up. He then looked at Naruto and Kushina and said; _"...Do not speak a single word. That means _you _Kushina."  
><em>

The redhead withhold her would-be laughter at bay by closing her mouth with her enclosed fist and coughed to compose herself, "Not. A word. Got it." she said, but her amused smirk told Kurama that she was keeping whatever words she got in her mind within.

Kurama sighed as he looked at Naruto, _"Well kit, it looks like your body has absorbed most of my power now. Leaving me like this until I can grow it back again."_

"How long will you be like this?" Naruto asked, putting his question about Kurama's recuperation ahead of his question of his new-found power.

_"Not a clue." _Kurama answered honestly, _"Last time I was killed and forced to regrow myself back, it took a hundred years or so. Seeing that I got a form to start with, I don't think it's going to be _that_ long. But still long nonetheless."_

Naruto nodded with an understanding grunt, "Hm. If there's anything I can do to help you Kurama, let me know. I _did _get you in this mess after all."

Kurama smiled and said; _"For now, that kind of mindset is already fine with me." _he stated rather solemnly, _"Anyway, let's get down to business. The extent of your powers has been increased exponentially due to you absorbing some of my energy."_

"It amplified Naruto's power I take it?" Kushina asked, "But what caused it to happen? How can your power be influenced by... whatever it was that give my boy his power?"

_"I've considered the possibility that the energy that came from the Crystal was something that transcends my own." _Kurama answered, _"When its energy seeped into your body, I could barely feel it, except with that one occasion when I took control over your body."_

"Wait. You controlled his body?" Kushina asked, obviously not knowing that little tidbit until this very moment.

_"He was unconscious at the time. And besides, it allows me to give a present to him in the form of this power." _Kurama justified, _"Not expecting this to happen, I didn't. But it's not so much of a pain as it is a nuisance, so don't worry about me."  
><em>

Naruto nodded, glad that Kurama was not in a bad shape as he thought he was, "Good to hear it Kurama. So compared to me before, how powerful am I now?" he asked, diverting the course of the conservation.

_"Twice or thrice as powerful at the maximum." _Kurama answered before he grinned, _"For the moment at least."_

Naruto chuckled faintly as he said; "The elasticity theory that I came up with is still prevalent, huh?"

_"Until the very end." _Kurama said, answering Naruto's question, _"Your already existent power has been amplified, its magnitude, its reach, everything has been improved."  
><em>

"Including his ability to influence one's mind?" asked Kushina.

_"That too. However, the limitations are still in place, so don't think that you can enforce your will upon the minds of multiple people without proper training. And considering that you have only used it on a cat and a person, in the latter case, bleeding out due to you not being used to the strain, I think that you must experiment a little bit more before you can use it as freely as you use your psychokinesis."_

"Agreed." Naruto said immediately, surprising Kushina somewhat, "Still, considering the situation that I'm in, training that ability will have to wait." he said, referring to his current feud with the War Beast.

_"Ah yes. That brute." _Kurama remarked, _"I believe that his source of strength is very much the same as yours Naruto, considering that he mentioned the Crystal as the thing that gave you your power."_

Naruto nodded as he said; "You're right. At the very least, that's the most sensible explanation, considering that the Crystal's usual 'gift' to people was insanity. Him assuming that I had this power due to the Crystal is kind of a give away of his knowledge."

"But his power seems different." Kushina added as she cupped her chin, "It seems that the Crystal amplified his bodily strength and capability instead of giving you power of mind over matter."

_"Different variation of the same power." _Kurama interjected, _"Naruto's energy manifested outwardly, enabling him to physically control something without any visible physical interference."_

"While his power is the reverse version of mine." Naruto said in realization.

_"Precisely." _said Kurama, _"Application of power, or energy, into one's body instead of the environment. He's your antithesis. If this were an illustrated literature intended for teenagers, I would go so far as to say he's your destined enemy."_

Kushina chuckled slightly, "His Archenemy? Because he's his mirror in terms of power?" she asked, somewhat incredulously.

_"Don't laugh, Kushina. It's appropriate to be applied in this situation."_

The redhead chuckled again, "I have to admit, it does sound pretty appropriate." she admitted, "So what are you going to do next, my son?"

"Prepare." Naruto said, "Prepare for my next confrontation." he then smiled as he said; "I now know why dad got into a tie... But why did he say that they would've gotten along if the circumstances were different? That, is something that I want to know."

_"And if you can't make him listen to what you say..."_

"Then maybe he'll listen to my fist." Naruto finished, mirroring Kurama's grin with his own.

Kushina shook her head in mock-exasperation as she placed her hand on her forehead, "Great, now there's two of them... You've influenced him too much, Kurama..." she uttered.

* * *

><p>Looking at the unconscious boy in front of her, Haku was trapped in a state of confusion as to how he should deal with him and his teammate.<p>

While she knew that both of them were affiliated by the Shinobi of Konohagakure, she also knew that they were not a part of the team that was tasked to neutralize War Beast. They're not even Chuunin-ranked, so they weren't supposed to be sent, considering that Konoha, of all villages, would exercise caution in dealing with the War Beast.

But him... He was a special case.

That kind of power was not something that anyone could see in a Shinobi. Elemental manipulation? Heard and seen it all, even non-shinobi knew how a Shinobi of a certain rank could perform techniques that controlled one or two specific elements.

But the capability to fly, perform feats of impossible strength, capability to exert an invisible force that controlled his surroundings? Those were not something that any Shinobi could do.

So what was he? This... Naruto Uzumaki? This human who had a power that could equal the War Beast's?

An enigma. Something that just begged to be investigated thoroughly, from where did he get such a power? What was it exactly? Could he defeat the War Beast if not for this unknown illness that suddenly befall him? And why did he look so familiar?

So many questions, so many possible answers, so little time...

'He must be awake if I ever to have an answer to all of this...' she thought to herself, 'After all... he might be my only hope in killing that man...' she added somberly to herself.

She knew very well that her odds in winning against War Beast, be it through stealth or outright combat, was not good, and will never be.

So instead of doing those things, perhaps she could let him, or purposefully manipulate him to do that?

With him, the odds are not in either one's favor. She could see that this boy was capable of beating that Beast if he were in his peak condition and was not interrupted by a seizure of some kind that had forced him to withdraw.

When she saw him so close to his doom, she had chosen the decision to save him. He did not deserve such a death, a death caused by something out of his control.

He could have defeated him if he were to continue. But yet something terrible had affected him, and now, here he was, lying on a makeshift bed, unconscious and unresponsive.

She walked closer to him, and as she inspected his very being, she saw that something had happened when she was not looking.

'He's changed.' she thought.

His body was no longer riddled with glowing red veins, and he had certainly transformed slightly.

His physical height increased by a few inches, as evidenced by his seemingly tighter-looking clothes. His muscle density had also been increased, concurrently, with his decreased fat. And lastly, he was a bit calmer and less anxious, indicating that whatever it was that had plagued him had stopped.

'Hm, it looks like he doesn't need help in getting better after all.' Haku remarked. "Boy! Your friend is healed!" she yelled.

...

From outside of her hideout, located in a natural cave that was modified slightly by human intervention, undoubtedly by her, one Sasuke Uchiha could be found sitting right outside of it.

He heard her shouting, and as a response, he ran towards where Naruto was being placed.

When he arrived there, he saw the kunoichi's back facing him, then she turned her head towards him, and he said, "What did you do to heal him?"

Sasuke walked towards Naruto as Haku said; "I did nothing. His wounds healed by itself."

Seeing the blonde was no longer covered with red veins, Sasuke felt a slight relief, but after seeing the subtle, but visible changes across his physical body, he turned to her and said; "And I suppose his body changed by itself too?" he asked in disbelief.

Before Haku could reply, Naruto suddenly opened his eyes, and in a quick motion he raised himself into a sitting position, startling both Haku and Sasuke.

His breath was not heavy, his visage, calm, but something about the intensity of his gaze unnerved Haku slightly.

But then, it softened, and as quickly as it appeared, the intense gaze changed into a softer one. "Thank you for saving me, Kunoichi-san." was Naruto's first words, he spoke it as he was smiling.

"You are welcome." Haku replied, "The name's Haku."

"Uzumaki Naruto." He introduced himself before he turned to Sasuke and said; "Sasuke." he then stood up as he said; "Are you alright? It seems you are unhurt but you were captured, you were not tortured or abused in any way?"

"I did nothing to him." Haku said quickly to defend herself, "As to why I sedated him and brought him here... It was because I was curious as to who you two are."

Naruto turned to Haku, "Now you know."

Haku nodded, "Now I know." she said, "Some part of it at least." she then continued by saying; "Enough to deduce that you two are not supposed to be here. And you..." she said as she pointed her finger to Naruto, "Are someone lethal. Powerful. Young, inexperienced, but powerful nonetheless."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he said; "And why does it concern you so? Are you declaring yourself as an enemy?"

"I brought you away from War Beast." Haku retorted, "Does that not mean anything?"

"It does." Naruto answered, "It means that you saved me from death, I thank you for that. But everyone do something for a reason, and I want to know why. You're interested in my power, that is certain. Am I correct to assume that you saved me because you want me to defeat War Beast?"

The near imperceptible twitch on her left eye was the clue that allowed Naruto to say, "I hit a nerve, didn't I? Who did he kill? Your mentor perhaps?"

This time, it was Sasuke who answered, "She said it was Zabuza. Zabuza Momochi. One of the Seven Swordsman of Kirigakure... Which is, supposedly, a group filled with powerful swordsmen from that village."

"And he killed him." Haku said, venom laced into her tone of voice, "That War Beast... he murdered him. He murdered my... my precious person." she said breathlessly.

"And you want revenge." Naruto said as he walked closer to Haku, "But knowing him, you know that you're not powerful enough, so you want me to do it for you instead. Am I correct?" he asked.

Her expression was filled with rage, agitation, and grief, all at once, after a moment, she finally said; "I... am not... weak." she said spitefully.

"I do not imply nor express that notion." Naruto defended, "But compared to the War Beast, I doubt that you are powerful enough."

"I saw the things he's capable of." Sasuke said, "That man lives up to his moniker, that's for sure. A beast... He's really powerful."

'Similar to me, come to think of it.' Naruto added inwardly, 'At least, in terms of source of power. But where did he get that Crystal? And how did he gain power instead of succumbing to madness?'

_"Genetic anomalies." _Kurama answered,_ "The biological blueprint of every human beings are never the same with one another, your unique genetic code might've allowed you to gain psychokinesis power while his gave him powerful physical augmentation."_

'Hm, sounds logical. Still... this _does_ mean that the first Hokage failed to destroy every single Crystal in existence.' Naruto added.

_"He's only human, Naruto." _Kushina reminded him, _"We're not perfect, we can overlook certain things, even after careful evaluation in certain subjects."_

"I suppose so." Naruto said out loud, as if agreeing with what Sasuke said instead of agreeing to what Kushina said.

"Will you fight him again then, Uzumaki Naruto?" asked Haku, "Will you confront that man again? Defeat him, kill him, if you must?" she demanded an answer as madness filled her eyes.

Naruto was silent for a few seconds before he finally spoke; "I will confront him again. But in the matters of defeating him... It will take time. Time that we have in minimal stock."

He then turned and walked towards the exit and said; "Better make use of it now before it's too late."

* * *

><p>"Hey Naruto, wait a second." Sasuke said as he followed Naruto out of the cave.<p>

Naruto did not cease his steps, but he did respond to Sasuke by saying; "What do you want, Sasuke?"

"I want to know what happened." Sasuke began as he followed Naruto. I saw your fight against that man, I saw how you were staggered by something that sent you into a catatonic state. And now, I see you so determined to fight that man again, but why? It's not to fulfill that woman's desire, right?"

"No." Naruto answered still walking forward, "The deal between me and that man is rather... personal, to say the least."

"Are you pissed because he caught you off-guard and almost killed you?" Sasuke assumed.

There was a moment of silence before Naruto answered; "It agitated me slightly." he admitted, "But it's not that, it's something else."

"Then what is it, huh?" Sasuke asked, his tone betrayed his agitation, "You can't even trust your teammate with what you're keeping? I am not an enemy looking for your weakness, Naruto."

Naruto then stopped, and Sasuke did the same, "...Very well then." Naruto stated as he turned, "You want answers? I shall give you answers. Follow me." he said as he continued to walk.

Fully-intent on figuring out the enigmatic blonde, Sasuke chose to follow him to his destination.

...

Arriving at the natural clearing in the surrounding forest, Naruto turned to Sasuke and spoke; "Now Sasuke, do you want to do this quickly or do you want to take verbal explanation which will undoubtedly take much longer?"

Confused by his question, Sasuke replied with; "Huh? What on earth are you talking about?"

"I have a method by which I can relay information relatively quicker." Naruto answered, "But if you wish to take your time with verbal explanation, I'll oblige."

"What method are you talking about?" Sasuke asked.

"The method of creating a link between my mind and yours." he said as he pointed towards Sasuke, "Essentially, it's the same concept as memory-sharing feature of the Kage Bunshin, I'm just applying it to myself and other people instead of my own clones."

"...Alright." Sasuke began, "Let's go with that. What should I do?"

"Just stand there." Naruto said as he walked closer to Sasuke.

He then extended his right hand towards Sasuke's head and placed his thumb on the bridge of his nose and the rest of his fingers on the right side of Sasuke's head, "Close your eyes."

"Why?" asked Sasuke.

"If you decide to let it open as I forge the link, the sudden shift in perspective would be very disorienting." Naruto explained before he shrugged, "Your choice."

Grumbling incoherently, Sasuke complied and closed his eyes.

And then he heard Naruto saying...

"Brace yourself. In 3...2...1."

And the whole world transformed, destroyed, and reconstructed simultaneously before his new-found perspective.

"W-what the...?!" Sasuke shouted as he found himself immersed in the feeling of having a vivid dream, it was as if he realized he's sleeping and having a dream, but knowing that he didn't sleep, he initially got confused as to what he was experiencing.

_"Calm down. First time's always the hardest."_

However, Naruto's voice managed to bring him out of his reverie, _"Do not reject it. It will only make it harder."_ he said, _"Listen to my voice... let it be your beacon. I shall guide you."_

Taking his advice, Sasuke found himself relaxing as he accepted the link and listening to Naruto's voice.

_"Good." _he heard Naruto's voice, _"Let us begin."_

* * *

><p>Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, could be seen smoking tobacco from his beloved kiseru as he was taking a quick rest before he moved on to his work as the Hokage.<p>

It was just another day at work from his perspective, with nothing out of the ordinary happened in the last few hours, he had a passing thought that it would stay that way for a good couple of days.

But sadly, his logical mindset had squashed that thought right off, as soon as the thought passed by, it was immediately discarded for a new thought:

'Even if the past few hours has been nothing but ordinary, there's no reason to believe that it will continue to be like that.'

And with that, he prepared himself for any possibility that might occur.

One of which was the sudden arrival of an ANBU member by the way of Shunshin no Jutsu.

Who happened to be the one with the codename Neko.

Due to his transformed mindset, Hiruzen was not too surprised to see the purple-haired ANBU captain arriving with what could only be an important news to relay to him. "Yes, Neko?" he asked.

"Hokage-sama. Uzumaki Naruto has gone missing. Along with his teammate, Uchiha Sasuke."

...Well, it looks like his previous train of thought had been beneficial after all...

* * *

><p><em>Moments later...<em>

With a gasp, Sasuke opened his eyes and staggered backwards, struggling to keep his back straight, as if he had been hit hard by someone right in his nose. Though judging by the pain, it felt as if he was hit on every part of his head.

"Apologies." Naruto said to Sasuke, "The mental feedback might've given you some unfortunate side effects."

"Well, a little late on the information there..." Sasuke groaned as he struggled to keep himself straight, "So... that's what you want to show me."

"Yeah." Naruto confirmed, "I hope the information was not too muddled for you to be unable to decipher."

"No. No. Thanks to you, I was able to... filter it all in." Sasuke answered. "That explains a lot of things though. One of them is your new personality and intelligence. They're from your father, literally so."

Naruto smiled at that, "Quite confusing, I assume?"

Sasuke sighed as he rubbed his head, "Somewhat." he then looked at Naruto and said; "With that said, however... Who do you consider yourself as? Your father, or yourself?"

"I still have a good grasp on my identity." Naruto said as he shrugged, "Though I will not deny the fact that my father's essence really influenced me into who I am now, I am still Naruto Uzumaki."

The young Uchiha smirked, not a bitter or condescending smirk that Naruto had used to see from him, but something else entirely, "Hn. I guess that's true."

Then, the smirk was gone as Sasuke said this; "And about the Kyuubi... Is he...?"

"He's not in control of me, if that's what you're asking." Naruto answered quickly, he then smiled as he said; "He's quite friendly in fact."

Sasuke could only chuckle as he shook his head, too amused and bewildered by the idea of a friendly Bijuu to form a proper response.

Naruto smiled for a moment before he turned and said; "Well, with all that's dealt with... I'm going to-"

Before Naruto or Sasuke could do anything further however, they heard the sound of someone landing nearby, therefore, alerting him to the person's presence.

They turned, half-expecting Haku to be the one who intruded...

Only for them to find a familiar masked face with only one visible eye and the mop of gravity-defying hair staring back at them.

"...Kakashi." said Naruto.

"Naruto. Sasuke." said Kakashi with a calm and civil voice, but a sharp ear could detect a slight sternness beneath it, "What are you two doing here?"

* * *

><p><strong>End of Chapter 6<strong>

* * *

><p>See you at the next chapter, dear readers!<p>

4.


	8. Chapter 7: The Preparation

**Disclaimer:**I don't own the manga/anime series called Naruto. It's owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: The Preparation.<strong>

* * *

><p>Facing their Jounin teacher, Sasuke and Naruto were caught into an uncomfortable silence as Kakashi's gaze bore upon their eyes.<p>

While on his part, the grey-haired scarecrow was more intrigued than disappointed about his student's presence in Nami no Kuni. He already knew how they got here, but why was something that he didn't know as of yet.

When the burden of the patrol shift turned to him, Kakashi found Sasuke and Naruto coming out of the well-hid cave, presumably a hideout crafted by someone that was experienced enough to hide such a thing in plain view.

The feeling of responsibility, curiosity and confusion made him observe Naruto and Sasuke first before the logical decision that he should've made, which was to figure out who made such a hideout, as his students, despite how skilled they were, could not possibly create such a hideout.

He saw how Naruto grasped Sasuke's head as both of them closed their eyes, a sign that Naruto was using a branch of his telekinesis power.

When his and Asuma's students were participating in the mission to catch Tora, the so-called demon cat, he saw how Naruto managed to get a hold of the cat, the way he grasped its head before it suddenly warmed up to him was rather... odd.

His first thought was that his power's grasp could reach into the mind of a living being. Something that wasn't truly out of the equation, considering who it was that he's suspicious of.

But what he did to Sasuke was a bit... different, somehow.

However, that took a backseat as he intended to figure out the reason why the two of them were in Nami no Kuni.

"It's my fault."

To Kakashi's surprise, it was Sasuke who spoke first, not Naruto. "Explain yourself, Sasuke." said Kakashi.

"No no." Naruto quickly said to Kakashi before he turned to Sasuke, "You did nothing wrong. _I _was the one who wanted to come here in the first place." he defended Sasuke.

"You did." Sasuke began to explain, "But I wanted to come with you, and you brought me here. You could've come here alone, left me back in Konoha, I brought this on myself."

"_I_ brought you here." Naruto insisted, "The fault lies on me. Don't shift the blame here, Sasuke. He needs to know the truth." Naruto said rather sternly.

"I see that both of you are to blame." Kakashi said, though inwardly rather touched that both of them would say that it was their own fault when either of them could shift the blame on the other, he needed to show the strict side of himself, considering that he's dealing with a pair of rather rebellious students of his.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and Sasuke at him, after a moment, Naruto broke the silence by saying; "...No, it was mine."

"Explain." Kakashi ordered, not requested.

"It was my idea to come here, I know where you and your colleagues have been sent, and-"

"Hold it." Kakashi said as he raised his hand, "Firstly, tell me how you know that. Only those who are sent knows about that information regarding the War Beast."

Naruto sighed as he decided to tell the truth, "I spied on your meeting."

"...In a way that would not make an experienced Shinobi notice your presence, yes?" Kakashi asked, "Perhaps by manipulating a participating Jounin's mind to observe and hear the meeting?"

"...You missed several steps in your assumption, but... Yes." Naruto answered.

"So mental manipulation or something within the caliber of the Shintenshin no Jutsu of the Yamanaka clan. Are you implying that you're capable of doing that kind of mind manipulation?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yes. And I used it to, essentially, 'inhabit' one of the Jounin who was present in that meeting and gain the information about the War Beast from there."

"Hm." Kakashi muttered as he nodded, "Then what were you doing to Sasuke back then?"

"It was memory-sharing. A technique that I devised by basing it on the way that a Kage Bunshin would share its memory when it's dispelled, applied to my power of manipulating the external objects around me. I use it by creating a mental link between me and a subject and then showing them the information that I want to give."

'Fascinating.' Kakashi thought to himself, mentally noting the ability as something that could be useful in the long run, "And what exactly did you share?" asked Kakashi.

"...A lot of things which would be too long to be explained verbally." Naruto answered.

Kakashi went silent before he said; "...Well, now that I've found you, you know that I have to send you two back, correct? Because I assume that you came here without any agreement with the Hokage."

"I do know that you have to send us back. And we did come here without any consent from the party that had the task to allow or not allow such things to be done." Naruto answered, "But I can't leave. At least not till I face the War Beast."

"Why?" asked Kakashi, genuinely intrigued by Naruto's reason.

He then looked at Kakashi with a determined glare and said; "I'll show you why."

Naruto moved fast as he went over the distance between him and Kakashi within such a short amount of time and grasped his head in the same position that he had used to grab Sasuke's head.

"Close your eyes, sensei." he requested, "And see."

* * *

><p>The shinobi known as Haku had been sitting in the makeshift bed that the boy Naruto had previously occupied as she thought about her own strength.<p>

_"Compared to the War Beast, I doubt that you are powerful enough."_

The boy spoke the truth. Painful, but the truth.

Though Haku had never once expressed her pride in her ability, she considered Zabuza's approval as something to be proud of. And deep down, she already knew that she could not possibly defeat the one who killed her mentor so easily and so quickly as if he was some greenhorn genin.

...

_She could only gape in shock beneath her mask as the lifeless body of Zabuza was dropped on the ground._

_"Skilled. But weak." said the man known as War Beast as he turned his back away from Zabuza's corpse and walked towards Gato, who had orchestrated and had been observing the whole thing. "Now that I killed him, will you uphold your promise to give supplies that my men need?"  
><em>

_"Why of course." said the slimy business man, his tone of voice practically betrayed his glee, "After all, we had an agreement. Welcome aboard, War Beast."_

_Haku ran towards Zabuza's corpse, despite knowing that there was no indication that he might've survived, she did not want to believe that he was gone. Not that easily._

_But after touching the body that produced no pulse and had a heart that no longer beat, Haku couldn't deny the reality in front of her._

_He's dead._

_Zabuza was dead._

...

She gasped and shuddered as she remembered the grim realization of Zabuza's demise and what happened afterwards.

...

_She was blinded by rage. In her eyes, she only saw the massive figure of the War Beast, his back facing her, it appeared so vulnerable, weak to a quick and deadly attack._

_And she took her chance and charged towards him._

_Or at least, she took what she _perceived_ as a chance._

_As the War Beast turned so quickly and caught a hold of her neck, she found herself choking as she was held up in the air with only one of his hand.  
><em>

_As she struggled in his grip, as she repeatedly punch the arm that held her and as she tried to claw one of his eyes out in her blind anger, the sound that she made through her lips was a growl._

_And then, it turned into a roar. A roar of anguish, of despair, of desperation._

_Then, she heard him speak._

_"You desire vengeance, girl. Vengeance for the one you deemed important. The one that I had killed." the War Beast spoke, "But you are not strong enough."_

_His eyes bore into hers, and when she saw his eyes, she stopped her attempts to hurt him out of fear._

**_"You are not yet capable of such a feat."_**

_He then unceremoniously dropped her and said; "Go. Take the body of your fallen master. Bury him with his weapon, he at least deserved such a funeral." he ordered her before he turned his back towards her, "And if you want to seek my death, you are welcome to do so, young girl. But do so only when you are ready..."_

...

"Because if you don't, I will kill you." Haku said, repeating what the War Beast had told her.

She had been trying to tell herself that she was not weak. That she could kill him when the time is right, so long as the conditions are met and that the most opportune moment came along and she was there to take it.

But really, even with her unique capability of Ice Release(Hyoton), the War Beast would not be so weak as to be able to be defeated with measly techniques such as the ones that she had.

His strength and prowess was true to the legend. Breaking cliffs were nothing out of the ordinary for him, let alone breaking bones and flesh. The magnitude of his power was such that only few could best him in combat, one of which was the...

Haku's eyes widened as she remembered, "...Yondaime Hokage."

Now she realized the reason _why _his face looked somewhat familiar. Blue eyes, Blonde hair, it should've been obvious the moment she set her eyes upon him.

Haku stood up as she went outside of her hideout, intent on finding the boy named Uzumaki Naruto.

But instead, she found out that there was the presence of another. Mainly, another Shinobi from Konohagakure. One of the Jounins of Konohagakurejudging by his flak jacket...

* * *

><p>Having the mental link released, Kakashi's reaction at the mental feedback was considerably tamer than Sasuke as he merely let his eyes closed for a few seconds after the release and then opening it after the feedback died down.<p>

"...Interesting." Kakashi remarked before he looked at Naruto, "That certainly explains quite a lot. Your personality, the origin of your powers, your reasons for wanting to stay... And time-efficient as well." he added.

"But still..." the scarecrow look-a-like added as his visible eye softened slightly, "...Despite your father's memory, I see no valid reason for you to continue fighting the War Beast. Why do you want to fight him so badly? Is it because of his similarity to you? Or, at least, what you assumed to be your shared similarity?"asked Kakashi.

"Part of it." Naruto admitted, "Though it's more of the influence of my father's than anything else, really." he added.

"Hm." said Kakashi, "Still, though I now understand more, considering the method that you used to get here and how you left without informing the Hokage first, and not to mention not even bothering with the formalities that needed to be addressed first before you decide to go off into a potentially hostile environment-"

"-You are still obliged by the rules to take us back home." Sasuke finished for his sensei.

"Correct." Kakashi answered without missing a beat, "_However..."_

Kakashi then turned to Naruto and said; "Considering that the only one from Konoha who knows that you are here are me and Sasuke, as long as you are able to keep yourself hidden, I will not tell a soul about your presence unless you decided to show yourselves."

That brought a smirk to Naruto and Sasuke's faces, and the blonde was the one to thank the scarecrow, "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

"Hm. Just try not to get Sasuke into too much trouble, will you please?" Kakashi added, "With the extent of your power, you are able to withstand a massive amount of stress, but Sasuke is still a normal genin. I need you to look out for him."

Though Sasuke looked rather offended, he knew that Kakashi was right, he was still weak. The knowledge of Naruto's power limit made that harsh little fact hit harder to home than before.

But then a memory that was shared by Naruto came into his mind and his eyes widened at the possibility. '...Hm, maybe... But can he do it though...?' he thought to himself as he mulled over the new information.

"And by the way..." Kakashi said, interrupting Sasuke's train of thought for a moment, "Do you know the Shinobi who had been watching us for the past few minutes now?" he asked rather casually.

Naruto blinked once before he looked towards a certain branch located in the highest part of a tree, and there, he saw Haku, who had obviously heard what Kakashi said but opted to stay due to being rather wary.

"An ally." Naruto said without any stutter, "Saved me from certain death, and also seeking War Beast's death. Could be trusted to a degree, don't worry."

"Hm." Kakashi hummed as he looked towards the spot where Naruto had taken a look before. But this time, she was already gone, most likely she had opted to find another place to observe them. "Two people with a mutual goal would usually allied themselves to reach it. But keep your guard up Naruto. She might have an ulterior motive."

"I will. An-" Naruto stopped as he then asked Kakashi, "Wait, how do you know the Shinobi's a her?"

"The sound of her foot landing on a tree branch." answered Kakashi, "It allows me to judge her weight and capability of stealth. The creaking sound that the branch made was too quiet for a large, male Shinobi. Even the most stealthy of an ANBU Shinobi would make a small noise when they landed at something that would creak under duress. Kunoichi however, are more nimble, and therefore, they're able to be quieter than most Shinobi. It allows me to make that assumption."

"However." Kakashi stated as he raised the index finger of his right hand, "What makes me certain of her gender is the choice of clothing and her face. She might not notice it but I've seen her before you turned your head to her previous spot. She didn't even notice that I was turning my eyes to look at her."

"And it allows me to make a third assumption. That this Kunoichi is talented... but does not have years of experience in her belt. She's too fixated on the movement of my head instead of my eyes. Allowing me to see her from a fixated spot." Kakashi finished before adding; "But what escapes me is her name. As I have not yet asked her."

Sasuke gaped and Naruto's smirk widened at Kakashi's sudden show of deduction, and Naruto could only say this as a response, "Her name's Haku."

"I don't suppose you know her abilities?" asked Kakashi.

"She could generate a large amount of mist." answered Sasuke, "And that she's very handy with a senbon." he winced as he said so.

"Experienced it firsthand, did you?" asked a visibly amused Kakashi.

"...More or less." answered Sasuke as he turned his head away.

Kakashi sighed before he then said; "Naruto, Sasuke. Even though I am being lenient, let me state this so that the situation is clear." he began, "This is a special case. The next time you two want to do something as reckless as this, hold your thoughts and come to me first. I'll allow you to do whatever you want to do here, if you two can come back to Konoha safely. Have I made myself clear?"

Naruto nodded and answered with; "Sir, yes sir."

"Good." Kakashi said as he turned away, but before he disappeared in a Shunshin, he said one last thing to them, "Good luck with your endeavor Naruto. And keep Sasuke safe."

And then he left.

Moments afterwards, Haku showed herself to Sasuke and Naruto, her expression was rather apprehensive as she said; "Who was that man?"

"His name's Kakashi. He's our Jonin teacher." Naruto answered, "One of the best too. If I were to say what he had achieved until now, It'd take a long time to say it all."

"So I _noticed._" said Haku, her voice restrained, it was clear that due to Kakashi's frightening deduction, she had become rather wary of the scarecrow, "He's here because of the War Beast, I assume? With his skills, I doubt that any other reason would be the case of his presence here."

"Him and the others." Naruto stated, "If not for that, why else would they be here?" he asked rhetorically.

Ignoring the rhetorical question, Haku then said; "Uzumaki Naruto. That is your name, correct?"

"Yes." Naruto answered, "Why do you ask? Is there..." he stopped when he realized that Haku's expression was filled with curiosity,"...What did you find out about me?' he changed his question.

"You are the son of Namikaze Minato. The legendary Yondaime Hokage. Aren't you?" she asked.

"...I am." Naruto answered, "How did you find out?"

"Your face." Haku said, "I had a feeling I've seen it before. Not personally, but from somewhere. And I remembered that I've seen your face once, your father's that is, from a piece of paper. Back when I was..."

Suddenly, the young woman went silent as her expression turned rather somber.

"...Haku?" asked Naruto due to the sudden silence that Haku had started.

"Forget it." Haku suddenly said, she then looked at Naruto with such intensity in her eyes, "I heard that you want to fight the War Beast again."

"I do." Naruto answered, "Does this concern you somehow?"

"Show me your power." she requested, "Show me what it is, and also, the limit in which you are able to extend it. I _need _to see it."

"Why?" asked Sasuke, "What's it to you? Why are you so desperate to see it?"

Her expression softened as she said; "...What you said... about me being too weak to fight that Beast... I..." she bit her lower lip before she said; "I want to see if you can... kill him in my stead."

Naruto sighed as he said; "So you do want me to revenge this Zabuza person." he then walked closer to Haku and asked her; "Who was he to you? A brother figure? A parental figure? Because it seems that you are so attached to this person that when you lost him at the hand of the War Beast, you wanted vengeance so badly."

"...He... He was..." Haku began as she cast her head down, "He was everything to me. He took me in his care when I was on the verge of death. And for that, I vowed to myself that I will always be at his side, no matter what. When he fights, I fight alongside him. When he's sick, I take care of him. Wherever he goes, I follow. Whenever he wants me, I am there."

"...But that day..." she said, her voice shaking slightly, "...On that day, I failed."

As she struggled to compose herself, Naruto walked closer and gently grasped her shoulder, "...Even though I can't offer you any sincere consolation, considering that I do not know this Zabuza Momochi personally... I can see that you are very devoted to him. So I will say this; Do not blame yourself, just focus on what you can do now."

The blonde then smiled rather sadly, "Most of all, realize that to cast a blame solely on yourself for something that was undoubtedly outside of your control is a wrong thing to do. I've learned that years ago."

On the sidelines, Sasuke frowned as the memory of what Naruto had seen many years ago surfaced.

The faces that he had seen, the hateful glares, the dismissal of many people...

'And he once blamed himself for all of that. He thought that _he _was somehow responsible for something that had earned him their hatred.' Sasuke thought to himself.

Sasuke had discovered that there was another kid who had lived quite a shitty life for several years. And to think that both of them also shared that phase of self-blaming at two separate moments in their lives.

Naruto with his lack of knowledge as to why he was hated had led him to blaming himself. And Sasuke with him being unable to stop a certain man from killing his whole clan.

'Looks like we're more alike than I previously thought...'

Haku was less responsive, but it seemed that she was quite receptive to his attempt at comforting her. She then finally said; "I just... I don't know what I should do."

"Do what you can do." Naruto answered, "Live on. And maybe you will find another purpose in life."

Haku was not that convinced, but he could see that her expression was slightly calmer and more composed. She may not really believe that she would find another purpose in her life, but at the very least...

She could try.

But before that... Before she could move on with her life...

Haku looked at Naruto, her eyes hardened as she said; "No..." she trailed off, "Not until he's dead." she spoke adamantly.

* * *

><p>The scarecrow of Konoha couldn't help but feel a little bit worried over his students. Though their loyalty to each other was quite remarkable, their recklessness could very well get them killed in the process.<p>

Not to mention the unknown kunoichi... Despite being the one who allegedly saved Naruto, there was no reason to believe that she wouldn't betray them given the chance.

'Though Naruto's ability _is_ a factor that would balance it out.' Kakashi thought, knowing his student's capability to influence things with his mind, if the moment where the kunoichi betrayed them comes, then he should have no problem taking care of it himself.

But the thing that filled his mind was the information that Naruto had given to him, mainly, the fact that not only he had Kyuubi sealed inside of him, but also a copy of his father's essence.

And that when he gained his power, the energy interference caused the seal to merge Yondaime's doppelganger's essence into him and changed his personality to the point that he's no longer that loudmouthed kid who always sought other people's attention.

'He's a carbon copy of him. In every sense of the word now.' Kakashi felt his lips forming into a small smile, made out of the combination of happiness, bemusement, and awareness of the twisted way that he became so.

A complicated feeling it was, seeing the son of his sensei become exactly like he had been... Only, in a way that one would say as 'unnatural'.

He shook his head as he began to make his way back towards the house of the one who brought him here in the first place, Tazuna.

'Here's hoping that the War Beast won't make his move for long...'

* * *

><p>"Forgive me Hokage-sama, I've failed in my duty." the ANBU known as Neko known as Yuugao to her colleagues spoke with deep regret towards Hiruzen. Despite being tasked to watch over the boy named Naruto.<p>

"Calm yourself Neko. Tell me what happened. How did he disappear?" Hiruzen asked calmly though inwardly, he was slightly worried over the prospect of his sudden disappearance. "Do you think that Sasuke Uchiha is also involved in this?"

"...I cannot say with certainty Hokage-sama." Yuugao said, "But I shall tell you what happened. Per your orders, I was stationed near his apartment and observe him from a safe distance. He came home after a session of training with his sensei, Kakashi, and he acted as he used to, there was nothing strange." she finished before adding; "Except for one strange thing..."

"Which is?"

"...I... I do not know, I am not sure if he did something but..." Yuugao began to explain, "We made an eye contact through the glass window of his apartment. Of course, I was in hiding so I had assumed that he was just happened to look my way but didn't really see me. And he didn't seem to notice my presence either and went on with what he usually does."

"But during those moment after he seemed to see me and before I went into his apartment to check, I felt as if something was wrong. I felt it in the back of my head, as if I was immersed in a vivid dream."

Hiruzen frowned as he said, "Are you suggesting that Naruto placed a Genjutsu on you?"

"...No." Yuugao answered as she frowned beneath the cat mask, obviously rather distraught from remembering how she felt, "No, it wasn't... Forgive me, I can't seem to fully recall the feeling now... But I remember that it felt being inside of a very vivid dream."

'Hm...' Hiruzen mentally mulled over the information, 'As far as I know, Naruto isn't that talented in Genjutsu... But is his power capable of manipulating a person's mind?'

After a moment of silence, Hiruzen then said; "Well then, form a search team with three other ANBU members, find Uzumaki Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha in the most discreet manner possible. Do not disregard the possibility that the two of them might be going together into the same location. Make the search area as wide as possible, it may be that they are going somewhere outside of Konoha, considering that they are genin and would need formal permission to get out of the village along with a jounin to supervise them. Send one person from your search team in the next four hours to inform me of your progress. Make it sooner than that if you were able to find any good leads. Are my orders clear?"

"Yes Hokage-sama!"

"Then perform it immediately. I shall be waiting patiently for your news."

"Hai!"

* * *

><p><em>Sometime afterwards... In a certain part of the forest where Naruto is located...<em>

The blonde took a deep breath as he was standing on his two feet, his eyes was closed and he leaned his head downwards slightly.

**_"Concentrate." _**said Kurama, directing him through their link, **_"The human mind is capable of being fooled by its own lies, conviction is the drive of the human soul, as it were, but reason is the thing that can direct it."_**

Naruto smiled rather confidently as he then remarked; 'Ever the poet you are, Kurama. So basically, I must have conviction, I must believe in my own ability but acknowledging that it could be more refined and powerful than it is now. I need to do this because my ability is directly linked into my body and mind and so they could influence it to a degree, either in getting myself weaker or stronger, am I correct?'

**_"Got it down in less than a minute, impressive." _**Kurama said rather proudly.

'Well alright then. Let's get started.'

Convincing that his ability's magnitude was powerful was something that he had no need to.

However, he understood that he still needed to convince himself that he's capable of defeating the War Beast. He understood that that conviction will give him the drive he needed, but that alone wasn't enough.

For the thing that he needed most was the capability to understand the struggle that he had to go through to achieve it... Along with the incapability to be dissuaded by the prospect of having to suffer first before he could achieve his goal.

Determination. Perseverance. These traits are needed for him to be able to get stronger in such a relatively short time.

And those traits came in abundant number in the case of Naruto.

So yes, it was no surprise that he was capable of creating a telekinetic field that spread for almost two-hundred meters wide. And within the proximity of the invisible area, Naruto could feel and manipulate almost everything.

There was no rock that he didn't lift or shatter, no leaves that he didn't slice, no tree barks that he didn't rip, no water that he didn't 'grasp', nothing escaped his notice.

_"I see you do not need more advice on mental conditioning, Naruto." _said Kushina, impressed that her son was not truly that beat up about losing to the War Beast, _"I guess you owe me one, you big furball."_

**_"Sure, rub it in why don't you?"_ **Kurama asked sarcastically, but his tone of voice lacked the vitriol that would normally accompany such question.

'So should we take it a step further now, mother? Kurama?'

Sensing their approval, Naruto formed a handseal as he said; "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Suddenly, the whole area was filled with thick smoke, and its size was the first indication that Naruto had summoned a large amount of clones into the surrounding area.

And when the smokescreen dispersed, there were at least fifty Naruto clones in addition to the original one who was still closing his eyes.

"Attention!" Naruto yelled out. "Form five groups of ten!"

In response, his clones did as they were told and all of them then said; **"Ready and awaiting your orders boss!"**

"Listen up, all of you!" he began, "The whole lot of you will be separated into five groups of ten practicing the techniques that I will describe as such: Tactile Telekinetic Force Direction. The ability to exert a large amount of force on touch. Next is Flight. Exert yourself to the fullest, break the current speed limit and if capable, reach the speed of sound."

"Whoa whoa!" yelled one of the clones, "That's a pretty high threshold boss! I'm not sure if we can reach that speed!"

"As I said, _if _you are capable, then do so." Naruto reiterated, "I'll continue. The next group of ten will work on the capability of telekinesis, force yourself until you are forcefully dispersed. Everytime you do so, I will replace you with another. Speaking of which, I want the rest of you to do the same, force yourself to your breaking point. Am I clear on that?"

**"Yes Boss!"**

"Good." Naruto said, "Now for the next two groups of ten, you will be practicing for Elemental Manipulation and Telepathy respectively. The former is allowed to go wherever they choose on the grounds that they won't stray too far and relatively out of sight." Naruto ordered, "The latter ten will stay with me. I've devised some kind of game for you all to master this quickly."

"A game? Hey, that's not fair, why do they could get a game but we have to practice?" asked one of the clones.

"It's as much as a game as it is a practice as much as it is a chore." Naruto stated calmly, "It will be equally painful if not more so to what you guys will experience, so rest assured, all of us will be inflicted with a little pain here and there."

After a round of approving murmur from the clones, Naruto then ordered; "Disperse."

With that order, most of them took to the sky while the ten that was ordered to be with him stayed, to them, he ordered, "Form a circle surrounding me and come sit with me."

* * *

><p>'...Goddamn it dobe... I hate to admit this, but you're quite impressive.' Sasuke thought to himself as he looked over Naruto and his ten clones that were sitting in a group circle.<p>

Seeing him summon a large amount of Bunshin, Kage Bunshin, an A-rank kinjutsu with ease and without visibly tiring himself afterwards was quite a spectacle to behold.

And the one standing besides him could agree with him on this one as well.

Haku stood as she crossed her arms and watching over Naruto, her face impassive, but Sasuke could see that she was looking at Naruto with so much intensity behind her eyes, indicating that she had hope for Naruto to become stronger, and fast.

He looked at her and he couldn't help but be reminded of his own self. Here stood a person who had been hurt by the sudden loss of someone whom she really cared about. The loss that was caused by someone else's doing, and therefore, she had filled that void with nothing but hatred towards the one that caused it to her.

She's like him in a way. Her with the War Beast, and him with his brother...

'Itachi.'

Even thinking about the name that belonged to the man that he had once considered his brother brought quite some pain in him, and memories of that unforgettable night where everyone that he knew within his clan was killed mercilessly.

'It must be the same for her too.' Sasuke thought as he looked at Haku, 'To feel powerless against the one who murdered someone that she care about... To seek his death to the point of making it her life goal... To be filled with nothing but despair and hatred... She's...'

Sasuke sighed as he turned his head away from Haku. There was a moment of silence before he said; "...Are you sure about this?"

She turned to Sasuke and asked; "...Sure about what?"

"Letting Naruto bear the burden of your vendetta." Sasuke answered as he turned to look at Haku again, "Don't you want to be the one who will plunge the knife into his heart, so to speak? I mean, what kind of a revenge it would be when you're not the one who dropped the hammer?"

Haku scowled and her gaze burn into Sasuke's eyes, "...What do you know about the desire for revenge? Huh? What do you know of losing someone close to you? What do you know of my pain when that person is murdered before my eyes by someone who I can't even hurt with my strength? What would you know?"

Sasuke then answered, "Everything. I know about desiring for revenge as much as you do, if not more."

Seeing her inquisitive expression, Sasuke continued; "I know how it feels like to lose not just one person, but my whole clan. I know what it feels like when the murderer was someone so powerful that I can't even hope to stop him back then, and even now, after I became a genin.

"...And I know how painful it is to know that the murderer is someone from my own family... who killed his relatives without so much of a remorse." he finished.

Haku's eyes widened slightly as Sasuke finished; "So yes, I know a little bit about that little desire called revenge. And nothing would satisfy me more than to kill the murderer of my clan with my own hands... So why are you okay with the idea of letting someone else take that chance? That's what I don't get."

The girl was silent for a couple of seconds before she answered with; "...My heart might be crying for retribution... But my mind knows that if I follow this path blindly... I will be completely consumed by hatred. Blinding me from something that I _should _prioritize, not something that I _want _to prioritize."

"Which is?" asked the genuinely curious Sasuke.

"To live." answered Haku, "I know that I am not powerful to defeat the War Beast, even in his weakest... And to challenge him or even to try to assassinate him would be a fool's errand. So I will not die like a foolish person in my attempt to gain my revenge. Even if I am a tool for Zabuza-san, he will not want me to die so needlessly."

So there's a difference between them after all. She considered herself a tool for the one that was murdered by the War Beast. While he was regarded as an insignificant person from the one who killed his whole clan.

Not only that, but her reason, the thing that was her drive to move forward was the knowledge that this Zabuza would not want her to waste her life in an insanely stupid manner.

But his sole reason to move forward was the hatred directed against the one who was responsible for the genocide of the Uchiha clan.

Now he knew that he was different from Haku in a way. But in more ways than one, they were similar... Both of them are broken, lost souls. Understanding each other was not a very hard thing to do, unlike the attempts that Ino, Sakura, along with many other of his 'fangirls' had been doing for the past years...

So when he looked at her now... He could actually feel comfortable. Sharing the same plight and reason to stand up and go through life despite the massive emotional baggage that they carry.

But perhaps...

"Haku..." Sasuke began.

"Yes?"

"...If it's not too... sensitive, for you to talk about..." he began, "Before you met Zabuza, what kind of life that you've lived?"

She blinked twice while keeping her silent demeanor intact and her inquisitive but slightly confused expression unchanged. And Sasuke continued to speak, "...Never mind. I asked a stupid question anyway." he said, feeling rather regretful and ashamed that he asked such a question when he himself hated someone that would remind him of how his life had been before his clan was murdered by asking similar questions.

But Haku didn't stop looking at him, and after a few seconds, she spoke; "...I came from a simple village in Mizu no Kuni(Land of Water). Born to a family of simple farmers... It was after the latest civil war, where afterwards, bloodline limits, especially the rare ones were considered as something that deserved to be purged."

Sasuke was caught by surprise, Bloodline Limit was considered as taboo? To the point of punishable by death?

"In the last war, most of Bloodline Limit users caused a large amount of chaos that killed many people, a lot of them innocents. And as such, the view of Non-Shinobies about those who had Bloodline Limits were... divisive, at best."

Such a textbook example of understatement...

"I spent a few years thinking that I was normal, that these Bloodline Limit users were not my family's problem, and not to mention that I was oblivious to the hatred they held back then... But then, I found out that I was one of these hated people."

"What's your Bloodline Limit?" Sasuke asked.

"Ice Release." answered Haku, "A rare form of Bloodline Limit that allows me to generate ice, which is the result of combining wind and water chakra. And as a result, I could control those elements as well.

"I discovered it when I found out I was able to generate water. I was happy, excited that I was capable of such a thing... I was so happy that I showed it to my mother with barely restrained glee... And she promptly slapped me and told me to never do it again in front of her or my father.

"You see, it turns out that my mother was not a normal person like my father had thought... She was a member of the Yuki clan, whose Bloodline Limit I inherit. And when my father found out..."

After a moment of silence, Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he realized what she's implying, "...Did he...? Did your father...?"

She took a quick, deep breath as she said; "He gathered several people, all of them armed themselves as they marched to the house and murdered my mother."

And so he was proven wrong once more. It turns out that she too was betrayed by her own family. She was betrayed by her father, while he, his brother.

"Despite him crying when he killed my mother, he and the others then turned on me, and was about to kill me until I retaliated out of fear..." she said, "And I killed them all. I created several ice spikes that pierced through their bodies."

She sighed before she turned to Sasuke and continued; "Afterwards, I spent my life trying to survive. Scavenging and begging for food and shelter... But most of the time, they were afraid of me to give me either of them. I was filled with nothing but despair and the feeling of being unwanted, I considered myself as something lower than trash... But at the lowest moment of my life, he found me."

"Zabuza Momochi." Sasuke said the swordsman name.

"He took me. Taught me how to be a Shinobi. Taught me how to become his most useful tool. And out of gratitude for him, I accept his teachings wholeheartedly. I trained, toiled, labored, every day of every year I was with him. So that I could be his most effective tool... So that I could... protect him."

She cast her head down as she finished with; "...I had a thought that a person could be strong when he has someone that he wants to protect... That may be true to an extent. But now I also know that to lose that certain someone could also make you weaker, prone to bouts of self-loathing, regret... and impotent anger. As in my case."

"But it wasn't _because _of you that he's dead." Sasuke said, "Wasn't it?"

She looked at Sasuke and said; "...I suppose there is a semblance of truth to that... But you forgot one thing. I am his _tool. _I was supposed to protect him. I could've died in his place. ...And yet here I am instead of him. I am a failure."

Sasuke shook his head and replied with; "You are not a failure. You are someone who's caught in events beyond your control. The best you can do is to do what you can."

"...Which is?" asked Haku.

"Live." Sasuke answered, "And maybe, when the time is right, and when you try your hardest, you will be able to right the wrongs of the past."

* * *

><p>"Kakashi, you're back." said Asuma as he watched the silver-haired scarecrow walking towards him. "Did you find anything worth mentioning?" the cigarette-smoking man asked.<p>

"Not particularly." Kakashi said, "How about you?"

"The same. Nothing really extraordinary happened besides the fact that the War Beast is preparing for something." Asuma said, "Could it be that... he's preparing to fight the one who fought him before?"

"Who knows?" Kakashi asked, "Whoever that person is, he's very capable of creating so much destruction that it could be heard from afar..."

From the memory-sharing ability of Naruto's, Kakashi now knew that it was the same blonde boy that fought the Beast. And that he would've continued to do so if it weren't for the sudden pain that came out of nowhere and forced him to take the full brunt of the War Beast's pummels.

The idea that the same boy was going to fight that Beast again was somewhat unnerving to Kakashi. But, if there were any assurance, it was Naruto's capability and his conviction. He mirrored his father's look of determination that he always used whenever he's facing seemingly impossible odds.

Kakashi felt that he could trust the boy in surviving the battle that would undoubtedly be catastrophic in scale.

A Jounin in times of war would often have to face the fact that a genin under his or her care might become a part of the list of casualties in the ongoing war. But even without war, death would always be a part of the world of Shinobi. And so, Kakashi was somewhat apprehensive about Naruto's safety.

However, unlike an inexperienced Genin, Naruto had something that put him above any mere Genins. Namely, his so-called psychokinesis.

One thing that Kakashi knew that Naruto could achieve with such a power was application of kinetic force on an unprecedented level. The force of a punch could be amplified by adding kinetic force using his pyschokinesis to add to his natural strength. And depending on how advanced his power was, the effect could be devastating.

'Hm, now that I think about it, that might be why their fight caused so much disturbance.' Kakashi thought. "But nevertheless, we better keep our senses sharp. Things are going well now but who knows what could happen next?"

* * *

><p>Looking over Naruto's apartment, Yuugao Uzuki, codenamed Neko of Konoha's ANBU, found that he had left it as it was before, nothing, at least those that were already apparent, hadn't been moved or tampered in any way or form.<p>

'He left it as it were. Looks like he didn't plan to leave for a long time.' Yuugao thought. 'But how could this be linked to the Uchiha? This doesn't seem like a premeditated action.' she wondered next.

Tasked by the Hokage to find two missing genins, she had chosen some of her fellow ANBU to assist in the search.

While the others were looking for traces of the Uchiha, Yuugao opted to find traces of one Uzumaki Naruto.

Considering that she's one of the few 'regulars' who had been tasked many times to watch over Naruto from the shadows, she knew the pattern of his activities and behaviors quite well.

But due to the changes that the boy's experiencing recently, the patterns that she had known had changed slightly, and so she had to find him with a blank template to work on. He had been so familiar to her until recently, and it made the cat-masked ANBU rather miffed.

'Hm... perhaps the Uchiha boy was not part of his original plan? Perhaps he was not supposed to come with him but ended up coming anyway for some reason.' surmised Yuugao, 'That makes a lot of sense actually.'

Then she heard the door being knocked, and a female voice shouted; "Hey kid! You there? I want to talk to you about something!"

It was the landlady who supervised the apartment that he lived in. Yuugao knew about her, Eri Kanda, who lost her spouse during the Kyuubi's attack twelve years ago. One of the few people who knew what Naruto contained but bears no irrational fear against the boy.

What could she possibly want with the boy, Yuugao wondered. Though she had a feeling that it would not concern the boy's disappearance, she still had to tread carefully, as Eri might know more about where Naruto went than even Yuugao herself.

Slowly, carefully, Yuugao walked towards the door, and when she opened it, Eri was caught by surprise, as she was expecting for the boy to open the door.

"...What's an ANBU doing in the kid's apartment?" she remarked, "Are you looking for him?" she asked.

Such a question could only be asked if she knew that Naruto had gone missing in the first place, "Do you know where he's going?" Yuugao asked.

Eri sighed and grumbled, "I _knew _I should've acted sooner..." she then said to Yuugao, "Though I don't know where he's going exactly, I saw him flew off yesterday night, going to who knows where."

After a moment of silence, Eri continued; "Speaking of which, how could he do that anyway?" she asked.

"...That is classified."

Eri smirked and snorted, "Hmph, don't tell me, he got experimented on or something? Who's the idiot who ordered that by the way? The kid's could barely live a normal life as it is and now he got this strange ability."

"He was _not_ experimented on." Yuugao said rather sternly, "What happened to him was not planned by anyone, not even him."

"Hm. Whatever." she said, seemingly rather disinterested by what exactly happened to him, "But I noticed one other thing though."

"Do tell." Yuugao said somewhat eagerly.

"The Uchiha boy, the one who was named after Sandaime's father? I noticed him hiding from the trees and followed him when he flew away." Eri said, "Are you looking for the boy as well?" she asked rhetorically.

"...Something like that. Yes." Yuugao said.

"Hm, then good luck to you... Neko. They could be anywhere by now." Eri said before she began to walk back to her place.

"Wait a moment." Yuugao said as she followed Eri.

Eri merely turned her head slightly to look at Yuugao and said; "What more do you want?"

"What business do you have with Nar- The Uzumaki? Why were you looking for him?"

Eri just smiled wryly as she said; "I just wanted to see if he's home or not. And if he were, I would ask him about that flying thing. As strange as it looked like, it was kind of... interesting, to look at too." she answered, "That, and I also want to inform him that I'll be making another key for his apartment to replace the one he's lost. Which will be added to his rent bill. Tell the Hokage that, would you?"

* * *

><p>The original Naruto Uzumaki sniffed before he scratched the bridge of his nose, having felt a sneeze coming, but then it went away at the very last second.<p>

Ignoring the idea that someone might be talking about him, Naruto looked over his clones, who had achieved some progress in their respective fields that Naruto had placed them into after hours and hours of training.

There had been some over-exertions that caused some clones to disperse before they finished, but all in all, it had been a pretty successful training session that really improved his abilities alongside the clones' durability and prowess.

The team that was tasked to sit in a circle surrounding him was given a mind game that pit them against each other. One clone will attack the other's mind by sending repugnant, perverted, or outright vile thoughts in order to try and damage the other's mind, while the other must defend their mind by erecting a mental shield that would forbid any thoughts from coming in.

And this team was far more successful than the others. Due to the fact that they only need to exert their mental strength and not their physical one.

"Gah! Dude, what the hell's wrong with you?!"

"Hey, the boss ordered me to send you some disturbing images, and that's what I did! Besides, you're supposed to defend your mind, why did it only take me a minute to break it? Concentrate a bit!"

"Fine! At least think about something tamer this time!"

Apparently, his clones could also think up images that he wouldn't even dare to picture himself. The independence of these clones were somewhat enlightening to him. 'How come nobody did a research on this thing? This technique is fantastically versatile if it were used by the right person.' Naruto, the real one, remarked.

_"Well, for a large part of our history, we are always put ourselves at war. Things like this was just seen as a tool to be used instead of something world-changing." _Kushina said.

_**"That, and you have to admit that most Shinobies don't have a scientific mind **_**and**_** the power level to accomplish what you think is as easy to be done as breathing."**_

"...There's that I suppose." Naruto conceded, seeing Kurama's point. "Anyway, what do you think about my strategy?"

_"It's plausible, there's that. The only problem in your path now is to execute it perfectly."_

"Mm. Let's reiterate the whole thing, shall we? First I will-"

_**'!'**_

A high-pitched noise. A sound similar to what a person could produce if they have sharp fingernails and they used them to scrape a chalkboard. It was a sound that would make people flinch if not cover their ears due to the shrillness of the sound that made them think that their eardrums were going to explode.

However, Naruto didn't _hear _the noise. Even worse, he _felt _it, and instead of his eardrums, the sound that should not and could not be heard seemed to be coming from within.

Through the mental link that he shared with Kurama and his mother, he felt their agony, their pain at feeling what he didn't doubt for a second as a mental assault, performed by someone who knew what he's doing and to whom.

This action caused all of his clones to puff out due to the massive mental feedback that affected those who had the same ability to receive powerful mental transmission. Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut in an attempt to bear the pain. And through it, he began to push back the mental assault solely through his determination alone.

After a while, it began to die down, and when it finally disappeared, Naruto breathed out a sigh of relief as he wheezed out, "What... was that?"

"Naruto!"

It was Sasuke's voice, he turned towards where it came from and saw him running towards him, his expression showed his apprehensiveness. "What happened? I saw you clutching your head like you're in pain."

"...A mental transference... That caused a disturbance." Naruto answered, "I don't know where it came from or who sent it... But it's trying to invade my mind and... I was not prepared."

* * *

><p>"Hm... Now that's something. He acquired his power much earlier compared to mine..."<p>

From a location that no person, no matter how powerful they were, are capable of reaching, a man stood and watched at the earth above him, separated by the empty dark space between the moon and the earth.

Sighing to himself, he continued to speak, despite the fact that it should not be possible. "This would mean that he could reach my level before long. Gotta put a stop to that, can't say it's something that he would want either."

He then smiled and said, "Still... to interrupt now would be rather rude... I'll let him play with that beast for now."

Then he bent the space around him and vanished to who knows where.

* * *

><p>"Are you alright?" asked Haku, who arrived seconds after Sasuke.<p>

"...I do not know." Naruto said, 'Are you guys alright?' he asked his mother and Kurama.

_"We're fine Naruto, we're all okay."_

**_"That stings like a mother-"_**

_"Kurama! Language!"_

**_"That stings like a bitch!"_**Kurama growled out, prompting Kushina to groan as he just used an expletive despite her warning. _**"What the fuck was that?!"**_

'I don't know... That seems like a mental infiltration. Whoever did that, he or she is a lot stronger than me in that department.' Naruto answered, 'That might've hurt because I wasn't used yet to having someone going inside my head from the outside like that.'

_**"Do you think it might be the War Beast?"**_

'No. Remember what you said before? His energy is directed inward, not outward. This is the work of someone else entirely...' Naruto stated, then he looked at Sasuke and Haku and said; "It seems I'm alright. And... hm."

"What?"

"...The memories from the clones are coming back." Naruto said as he clenched his eyes shut as he's being subjected to all of the clones' memories at once after his mental status was stabilized, he grunted in pain for a few seconds before he opened his eyes again and said; "It's over. And... well, the dizziness is expected to persist for a while... I might need a little downtime." he finished as he rubbed his forehead.

As Naruto kept on sitting on the ground as he's trying to alleviate the pain, Sasuke then said; "So, do you have any plans? Regarding the War Beast, I mean." he created a topic.

"...I have... actually." Naruto said slowly as he's still trying to alleviate the pain in his head, "It's not so much a detailed plan as it is a layout on what I should do. But I suppose that it'll have to do."

"...What?" Haku asked, a bit incredulous at what he said, "That's it? You don't have a detailed plan?" she half-asked half-demanded.

"A too well-detailed plan have a bigger chance to fail." Naruto responded, "Sometimes... it's better to leave some room for improvement or innovation. That's why a long-distanced, large-sized bridge needs some space in its design. Wound up too tight... And it might collapse on itself given enough stress."

Naruto then stood, still looking rather exhausted from the massive mental feedback, but nevertheless, able to pick himself up. "Anyway... I've decided that the training session is over for the moment. Now let's-"

The sound of a massive explosion coming from afar diverted their attention, "It sounds like it's coming from..."

"The village." Sasuke finished Haku's statement grimly.

"Hm. Looks like the War Beast is making his move... Hopefully, Kakashi-sensei and the others could hold him, but if they can't..." he stood up and dusted himself off. He then looked towards the direction of the explosion and said; "Then it's up to me."

* * *

><p>Kakashi and Asuma was right in the proximity of the explosion when it happened.<p>

The explosion occurred on the bridge, when they were helping Tazuna and the other citizens to continue the building process while the bandits led by the War Beast were coerced to go back by the Shinobies.

But when War Beast performed something that Kakashi's energetic friend would call as a 'dynamic entry', which was to come crashing down upon the bridge from the sky and in turn, creating the said explosion by the sheer magnitude of his physical power.

The bridge was partly destroyed thanks to what the man did, Kakashi and Asuma managed to survive by jumping out a few feet outside of the blast zone, and when the smoke cleared... they saw the man that they were tasked to hunt.

Now, the silver-haired scarecrow was facing the one enemy that his teacher had spoken to in awe. The War Beast, the legendary outlaw that fought the Fourth Hokage into a standstill with a power that was only known to the blonde Hokage and a few others.

Though he was not as physically imposing as his name would suggest, his body was still muscular, far more densely muscular compared to any of them, but Kakashi grew up imagining him as a giant of a man instead of a 'while somewhat tall, he's not really that monstrous-looking' man.

But there's something about his presence... Kakashi felt intimidated by him the moment he arrived. Perhaps it was because of his infamy, perhaps it was because of his showy entrance, either way, the sheer presence of this man caused him to be afraid.

The only thing that made him able to stand on his two feet and took out his kunai was his willpower. "...War Beast."

"...Scarecrow." he replied as if he was answering a question, causing Kakashi to wonder if the man was joking or not. The silence that came next indicated that it was the latter.

On his side, Asuma looked rather apprehensive of the situation. But nevertheless he remained firm and manage to hide his fear for the purpose of appearing more confident than he actually was.

"I trust you know why we are here...?" Asuma said.

"You have been sent because of me." answered the War Beast, "My presence forces you to come as per orders of your Hokage... More than the two of you, in fact."

The destruction of the bridge should have alerted the other Jounins to come to their aid, but by the delayed reaction, it would seem that they were otherwise occupied.

"You have ordered your bandits to attack the village while you destroys the bridge... is that right?"

"A marvelous assessment, Scarecrow." said the intimidating man with an honestly impressed tone of voice, "However... Before I do so, why don't you show me your prowess? To see the power of the men sent to kill or apprehend me."

Kakashi and Asuma tensed, knowing that the battle that was to come could not be delayed nor avoided.

* * *

><p>Kurenai wanted nothing more than to come to Kakashi and Asuma's aid when she heard the sound of something crashing down on the bridge.<p>

But as it turned out, War Beast had planned this all along.

There were many villagers that were turned into hostages, courtesy of his goons. With their lives as leverage, Kurenai and the other Jounins must take precaution so that none of them could come to harm.

Even if she were to put some of them into her Genjutsu, the other would take notice and kill some of them in retaliation. A coordinated attack was necessary, but even then, it seemed that casualties were inevitable.

However... Kurenai did not intend to create one, and that was the reason why she was unable to do anything.

The amount of bandits holding the villagers hostage was too many for her to catch them all on her genjutsu at once, perhaps she could take five or six of them at once, but then the others would undoubtedly kill the others and attack Kurenai and the others.

"I see you're quite smart, Kunoichi..." said a rather calm, composed bandit who held a knife at the throat of the woman that was the village leader's daughter, Tsunami. "Do not try to interfere. Boss wants to take care of this by himself."

A fellow jounin then asked the question that was in Kurenai's mind, "Take care of what? The bridge's destruction? If so, then you won't succeed. Our best men are there right now, facing him."

The man laughed with mirth in his eyes and said; "The best? Are you sure? Because from what he had been going on, it sure as hell wasn't you that he's worried about. It's something else, far more powerful than all of you here brought together."

She noted that for a bandit, he seemed more civilized than the others who stared at them with degrees of manic beneath their eyes. 'This one must be the Beast's right hand man...'

However, that thought was not something that she was worried about. She was more worried about Asuma and Kakashi, who was facing the Beast by themselves, without Kurenai and the others to back them up.

Then, when the thundering sound came from the direction of the bridge, Kurenai became more worried as she tightened her grasp on her kunai, intent on sending aid to both of them while preventing the lives of the hostages in front of them from being killed.

"What are we waiting for Omaeda! Why don't we just gut these people?!"

"Silence you fool!" the leader of the group that was named as Omaeda yelled to them, "It won't do for you to yell such things when the Boss is nearby. He heard you now, and I'm sure that he will punish you for later."

'It seemed that the War Beast is not one for killing innocents.' Kurenai thought, 'Still, what does he want being in that bridge and holding most of the villagers here? Is he trying to stall for time? Baiting someone? Or-'

The kunoichi was cut out from her thoughts when suddenly...

"H-hey! W-what's happening?!"

The thugs, save for Omaeda, were controlled, out of their will, to remove their hold over the respective villagers that they had been holding. And then, one by one, all of them fell to the ground with their eyes rolled back inside.

"Now." said Kurenai without hesitation as she and the others came upon Omaeda, who was then incapacitated.

"...What the hell happened?" wondered the jounin beside her who was handling the unconscious body of Omaeda. Another jounin then came to one of the bandits who fell out of nowhere, checking for a pulse.

"They're still alive! They're just unconscious!" he reported.

'But what _made _them to?' wondered Kurenai, but before she could invest herself in dwelling over that, she needed to make sure everyone's alright.

The woman named Tsunami was hugging her son, who had ran over to her when she was freed from Omaeda's grasp. She looked up at Kurenai and asked her; "D-did you do that?"

Kurenai shook her head and answered; "No. Someone else did..."

Then, she, along with everyone else in the vicinity heard the sound of something streaking through the air at terminal velocity heading towards the bridge. They looked up... and they could only see the trail of the object instead of the thing itself.

* * *

><p>Kakashi watched in despair as the War Beast held over Asuma by his neck with his state mirroring his own; battered, injured, with more than one broken bones on their body and undoubted internal bleeding present.<p>

The Beast was strong. The Yondaime was right in his stories of him, and Kakashi and Asuma barely had time to evade or dodge his attack, find a hiding spot, or performing a Ninjutsu, let alone to formulate a plan.

"...You're disappointing." he said before he threw Asuma to the ground in front of Kakashi, "Both of you. Numbers do not always make a difference, Scarecrow, you know this of course, yes? The current Hokage should've come by himself instead of sending you lot."

_"Good thing that I'm here then."_

Hearing the familiar voice coming from within his own head, The Beast turned his head around with widened eyes, wary for an incoming attack from the Namikaze boy.

What hit him right on his abdomen was a force not unlike that of a massive tidal wave that took him far away from the bridge in a split second as the boy took him flying, and away from Kakashi and Asuma.

* * *

><p><strong>To be Continued...<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter, Naruto vs the War Beast.<strong>

**3.**


	9. Chapter 8: The Battle and the Aftermath

**I do not own Naruto.  
><strong>

**A.N.: Be warned! Godly Naruto is inbound!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: The Battle and the Aftermath.<strong>

* * *

><p>What Kakashi and Asuma saw was how the War Beast was suddenly gone from where he once stood by a gale-like force that took him away by force. Though the latter did not know what it was exactly, the former knew, and despite that, he could not deny that Naruto Uzumaki had become something similar to a concept known as 'force of nature'.<p>

"What the hell was that?" Asuma wondered out loud.

"...A friend." Kakashi answered as he began to stand up and walk over to Hiruzen Sarutobi's son and helped him up. "Judging by how he did that at least." Kakashi offered with a slight smile beneath his mask.

Asuma looked at him with a slightly bewildered expression due to what he saw... Or the lack of what he saw, considering that it happened so fast that he was barely able to see it happened.

"Kakashi, do you know something that we don't?" Asuma asked as he accepted Kakashi's assistance and stood up.

"...Let's go check how the others are doing, yeah?" Kakashi requested instead, as if trying to divert the course of the conversation to a more important matter.

Though Asuma relented and followed Kakashi back to the village, he adamantly said; "You _will _have to tell us what you know sooner or later Kakashi." a warning, not a request nor a demand.

"...I will Asuma, I will." Kakashi answered the young Sarutobi, "But not here, not now. Later. Let's be glad that the War Beast is being handled by someone that we can ascertain as an ally."

* * *

><p>The strength and force that carried him away was something that buckled the War Beast. "Well, you certainly have gotten stronger!" he said to the boy carrying him away from the bridge.<p>

Naruto did not respond as he kept on carrying him away before ending it by crashing to a small cliff, busted right through it, and skid across the hard ground below, unleashing a large amount of destruction everywhere. Trees were either pulled from their roots, splintered into pieces or split into several parts, and the ground appeared as if an asteroid had skidded through it during its fall.

A mere moment after the crash, the sound of a massive shockwave similar to that created by a powerful explosion echoed throughout the surroundings as the War Beast's fist met Naruto's invisible telekinetic shield that he procured in front of his opened palm.

The Beast began to bulk up, his size increasing as Naruto felt the man's energy fluctuating, rising, as if acknowledging Naruto's power-up as an incitement for him to get serious.

He pushed and pushed his fist against the telekinetic shield, yet before it broke, Naruto responded by delivering fast flying kick that was blocked by the War Beast's palm, thanks to his quick reaction. However, his quick reaction proved to be only slightly effective against the sheer kinetic force that Naruto was exuding.

The War Beast grunted before he began to push the kick back, but suddenly, his effort was thwarted slightly when he felt a powerful force attacking him from behind, a powerful kinetic attack that used gales as an offensive force, one that possessed enough force and density to actually hurt the War Beast's durable body.

The man rooted his feet onto the ground, not wanting the force of the powerful gale to blow him away so easily, but then Naruto attacked him from the front, using a powerful fist imbued with explosive kinetic force that was released upon immediate contact through the punch, it had enough force to actually create a resounding shockwave shaped like a dome that expanded very fast across the environment.

The man with the Flaming Horse Tattoo actually felt his insides collapsing due to the effect, but Naruto was not finished as he did it once again, and this time, it sent the man flying at great speed southwards, far from the prying eyes back at Nami no Kuni.

With his eyes focused on the War Beast's trajectory, Naruto increased the standard velocity of his flight and flew over to the War Beast, intending to see where the monster of a man landed.

_"Hopefully he's weakened by that." _Kushina spoke through their link.

_"Yup, then you can get to the second part of the plan."_ said the Kyuubi with a slight glee, as if expecting Naruto's plan to happen.

First Phase of the plan was to physically weaken the War Beast, it would impair the man's focus and would allow them to go to the Second Phase, which involved accessing his mental processes from his brain and shut him down completely in both physical and mental sense of the word, killing him in the process.

Naruto wanted the first break-in to the man's mental world to go off without a hitch, and so he opted to do so through physical contact, which he discovered how it made access a bit easier compared to long-range access.

Though Naruto doubted that the short fight did the trick, he needed to ascertain whether or not the man is severely weakened or not.

Arriving at the crash site, he found the War Beast lying on his back, he approached the prone form carefully and slowly, and when he was close but the man did not seem to be conscious, he began to extend his hands towards the man's head.

Right before he touched it, the man suddenly reacted by grabbing Naruto's arms and moving his head for a headbutt in quick succession, however, Naruto pulled his head back, and when the War Beast stopped for a moment, Naruto headbutted him back.

It earned him a moment of reprieve through which the War Beast's grip on his hands were slackened and it gave him the chance to grab his head, which he did.

And so he began his mental assault...

...

Waddling through the ocean that was the thought processes of the human mind to try and find what he was looking for was something that Naruto had learned through his clones. An untrained human mind possessed next to no mental defense, and while this would bode well for a potential mental attacker, it turned out that it goes both ways, as the attacker also has a potential to be attacked back by the victim through mental backlash which could be severe depending on the degree.

War Beast had never trained his mind to repel mental attackers, and as such, Naruto possessed a free reign over his mind. However, he must act fast, with the man still conscious, he could push him out with enough mental force.

He began to dominate his mind and send out a mental control to shut his whole body down, he felt every neuron in his brain firing off to send a faulty message that practically said 'cease and desist'.

To his surprise, the War Beast's body put up quite a resistance. However, to him it was an incitement for him to push even harder.

In doing so, some things from his mind began to seep in, memories of the past, of his life before he became what he was now, a figure to be feared.

_There was a woman, middle-aged, bed-ridden and barely responding to any external stimulus. A boy sat beside the bed in which she was lying on, his expression troubled and afraid, concerned for the woman's safety._

This was his childhood.

_Though her heart beats still, it was said that there was nothing that he could do to change it. However, he was determined, and so he went on and tried to get a medic-nin to help him as the old woman's neighbors opted to ignore his pleas._

_The first one that he found blatantly ignored him. No matter how much he begged, no matter how much he tried to bargain with anything that he might have, the man did not agree, and so he looked for another._

_The second one laughed him away, saying that he had no obligation to treat his mother and carelessly mock his attempts. Though he gritted his teeth and bear through the humiliation, he persevered and resolved to not kill the man on the spot as it would not make the old woman happy.  
><em>

_On and on he tried, offering many medic-nins money or something else to help, but all of them refused._

_Was this because he came from a backwater village that nobody cared about? Or was it because these Ninjas simply do not care about the well-being of others? Even the villagers where he came from had a reason to not help, no matter how ridiculous it was...  
><em>

_In the end... she passed away without him being able to help her in anyway. He was not even able to make her conscious again. All that he could do was to bury her._

_Whose fault was all this? Who should be blamed for the death of the old woman who was kind enough to take care of an unwanted child birthed from the womb of a mentally-ill mother despite being labeled as a devil-child?_

...

The mental images were abruptly pulled away from his mind as the War Beast regained enough of his consciousness to throw Naruto away for twenty meters away, whereupon he stopped mid-air using his psychokinesis.

He remained there, watching over the War Beast's angered form. Now he somewhat understood his apparent hatred for Shinobi in general that led to the massacre that he did during the Third Shinobi World War. His excuse was understandable, a man would hold such a grudge if he were treated in such a way.

The War Beast did not spoke, nor did he ask 'So you saw?' and continued with 'Now you understand.'. Apparently, he was not one to do such a thing.

However, what was apparent is the fact that he had been angered, to the point that the veins on his muscles were visibly bulging as his musculature began to increase in volume and density, no doubt the result of the swirling energy within him being controlled to do such a thing.

'The increase of volume will no doubt affect his strength...' Naruto thought before his expression turned into the opposite of what he should be having at this current moment, instead of frowning in frustration at the fact that his mission had gotten slightly harder, he smiled widely, "Well... I'll just have to try harder, don't I?"

_"That's the spirit...!" _said the Bijuu within him.

The wind began to pick up pace thanks to his control over them. His power came naturally to him as much as breathing was, and his control had become so great to the point that he began to create a small, nearly invisible hurricane that enveloped the two of them.

"...Let's begin, War Beast." Naruto informed him calmly.

The War Beast merely looked at him with an expression that would cow a lesser being before he charged. Naruto reciprocated kindly.

And like bombs, the moment their respective powers violently contacted one another, it create a massive quake that reverberated through the air and the earth, rumbling and destroying everything within its proximity.

* * *

><p>From Nami no Kuni, Kurenai could feel the reverberation of a catastrophic event that was happening on a faraway location. Though the bandits had been captured, the signs of what could be a natural disaster was felt by everyone, and it rightfully scared them so.<p>

"W-what's going on?" Tsunami, the daughter of Tazuna who brought the Konoha Shinobi here asked Kurenai, "That sound... it's like the sounds from that night, the disturbances, but it's not from the bridge either, what is that?"

Kurenai did not have a satisfying answer to that question. She didn't even have enough knowledge to make a grounded assumption, she didn't even know what the hell happened to the bandits that made them unconscious without any visible external stimulus that made them that way. She didn't even feel a pulse of chakra that would suggest it was a genjutsu.

"I... I don't know Tsunami-san." Kurenai admitted as much.

Just then, Tazuna appeared, seemingly out of breath. He took a few moments to take a breath, and that was when Kakashi and Asuma arrived through Shunshin, both of them looked a bit worse for wear, but nevertheless standing and able to function.

"Asuma! Kakashi!" Kurenai exclaimed as they began to approach the villagers and their fellow Shinobi. The young Sarutobi seemed to be rather annoyed with Kakashi for some reason, judging by how he was looking at the scarecrow.

"What's going on?" Kurenai asked, "Did you two meet the War Beast?"

"Yeah, we did." Asuma answered, "But we didn't take care of him, he was... taken by someone else."

"By who?" asked the red-eyed kunoichi, genuinely curious.

"A friend. Or so he says." Asuma said as he pointed at the masked Shinobi who seemed to be rather annoyed by Asuma's annoyance at him not wanting to divulge the identity of the helper, "But he didn't even tell us who that was, he came swooping in and-... Wait a minute... goddamn it, why didn't I make that connection before...? But how come he's here? And why?"

"Who? Who's here?"

"Naruto. My student." answered Kakashi without missing a beat, "He apparently got here on his own accord, because he wants to fight the War Beast with his power."

As if on cue, the echoes that came from the location of the battle between the two monsters reached their ears, bringing most of them to a slight bout of panic. Kakashi however, was rather indifferent as he gazed upon the direction where the battle was taking place. "And that's where he is right now, fighting that man."

Kurenai had heard from Asuma about how the young boy had gotten incredible powers. Though she had deferred to Asuma's claims, she remained rather skeptical of what he said, especially when he told her of the abilities that the boy now possess.

However, the oppressing feeling of sheer power was unmistakable. And when Kakashi said that it was him, she found her skepticism died a little bit.

"W-whoa...! H-how powerful is this kid supposed to be?!" Tazuna asked as the wind began to pick up from where they were standing, indicating the power that Naruto held.

"...I don't know." Kakashi answered with full-on honesty before he turned towards the others and said; "However, we should take shelter, take the prisoners along as well. It seems that Naruto is giving his all to defeat the War Beast."

As they decided to follow what Kakashi said, a massive tornado could be seen forming in the distance...

* * *

><p>What the Crystals did to him was something extraordinary. Not only did it combine his essence and that of his father's, but it also revived his mother's, and allow him to possess such incredible powers on the palms of his hands, so to speak.<p>

What he assumed it did to the War Beast was also extraordinary, as he now possessed a body that could withstand anything that stood in its way.

_Almost _anything... As it turned out, with enough force, even _he _could be hurt, and when one was also empowered through the same source, it brought a state of stability to the balance scale.

A state which Naruto sought to tip over to his favor, and so far, it was working due to the method of battle that they had decided to undertake, which was a battle of attrition, a battle orchestrated by the booming sounds of the clashes of kinetic forces and the deafening whistles of the gales that Naruto had called upon to surround them and rendered the War Beast afloat.

Despite his capability to wreak massive amount of destruction and his staggering mental capability to defend himself from mental attacks after what Naruto did, the War Beast was not capable of flight, and it was a weakness which he exploited by putting him in a place where he could not move and incapable of dishing out his impressive physical capability and kept on wailing him with attacks of varying natures.

Naruto's psychokinetic strikes were like missiles, his gales were condensed air whose nature changed due to his manipulation and capable of dishing out an absurd amount of damage to the War Beast, damages that would've razed mountains, and yet the War Beast were only a little bit hurt.

In addition to that, Naruto summoned his clones and ordered them all to perform suicide mission, attacking him with barrages of flying strikes from every angle possible, Angel Airstrikes was what he called it as, as if angels, beings of higher powers, fell from the heavens not unlike that of meteors and as they landed, they created untold destruction from the discharge of their energies.

Out of his element, incapable on using his powers to the fullest of his capabilities, and constantly being pelted by barrages of attacks, the War Beast gritted his teeth in anger and frustration as the attack just kept on happening with him impotently trying to bat off his clones only for hundreds of them to come rain down upon his form like punishment from heaven and pushed him to the limits of his life.

Though he was fighting still, he could not inflict as much damage as he could have given if they were groundside, fighting with fists instead of using the sheer power of one's mind to achieve victory.

On and on he tried to retaliate, to at least land an attack on the Namikaze boy, but all his attempts were for naught.

"Namikazeeeeee!"

With that scream being interpreted as the signal for Naruto to finish it, he used his power to manipulate the latent energy surrounding them, activated them all at once with a little bit of mental push, focused them on the War Beast and ignited it.

The spectacle that he created was blinding. He manipulated electricity, the force which created the natural phenomenon known as lightning, heavily condensed it into a spherical form enveloping the form of a humanoid figure and continuously destroying the molecular make-up of his body due to how much energy it possessed.

From afar, it was as if there was a silver sun that was suddenly formed on the eye of the storm, an act of god, something that was beyond the natural works of nature.

On a safe distance on a secluded spot, Haku and Sasuke saw the spectacle in awe, shock and slight disbelief at the fact that he possessed so much power within him. They saw as the light slowly died down along with the hurricane, and they saw two tiny specks, one rendered afloat through invisible means, and one conquered by gravity as it fell towards the ground.

Even though they were far away, Haku recognized the small silhouette of the falling man. She was not sure whether she should be happy or angered by Naruto succeeding in killing the War Beast, even after she decided to let him be the one to do so.

"It seems your friend managed to do it..." she said to Sasuke.

The Uchiha did not respond verbally. However, his lips did form a small, nearly invisible smile after she said so.

Back on the ground zero, Naruto floated down towards the War Beast, all the while, he asked Kurama, "It seems that I am _far _more powerful than you have predicted, Kurama." he said rather neutrally. "Then again... I did absorb a large amount of your energy. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

_"To be honest with you, the scale of your full power also caught me off-guard." _Kurama admitted, _"Still, can't argue with how it got the job done, no?"_

"True enough." Naruto said as he landed on the side of the prone form of the War Beast, his mind began to prod through his mental defenses that were still active, indicating that he was, despite the fact that his body was burned to the point that he looked like a statue made out of coal, he was still very much alive.

However, due to his body being severely weakened, Naruto managed to get into his mind once again, and he began the Second Phase of his plan one more time.

...

_It was his arms. Big, bulky, and lined with dense musculature. His visage contracted to the point where his teeth were bared and his pupils shrank, indicating how furious and maddened he was.  
><em>

_His surrounding was filled with the dead bodies of many Shinobi, from Kumogakure and Konohagakure, and right in front of him, he was facing a man with spiky blonde hair, wielding a tri-pronged kunai on his hand._

_Both of them were tattered and tired, exhausted from their fight. The spectacle of destruction surrounding them included massive craters, severely mutilated bodies who were made so by the Beast's hands, and a clearing that was once a large forest, as made apparent by the stumps, the burned remains of the trees, and the sheer feeling of desolation that the are that they were in.  
><em>

_"Come now, why waste your talents like this? You can become a great Shinobi, but... why do you seek death?"_

_"...It is the path that I walk. Not of my choosing, but one that was set for me the moment I was born with this power... Your persuasion will not work, Hokage."_

_The blonde man sighed before he said in a regretful tone of voice... "...Pity."_

_Then, the blonde man known as Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, suddenly disappeared in a flash._

_What followed was movements too fast to be followed by a pair of untrained eyes, the War Beast and the Yondaime Hokage kept on fighting against one another, and the War Beast actually found himself struggling to even hold his footing on this bout._

_The Hokage moved as fast as his reaction could be accustomed to, leading to an even fight, but nevertheless, he made it up with his durability and strength._

_It was clear that the Hokage was out of options, and unless backups were to arrive, he would find his end here._

_Though the War Beast was certain that the backups would come, he would welcome them, after all, this man was the closest anyone had ever gotten to killing him..._

_But then he didn't... He was severely weakened and battered that by the time the meager backup arrived, he was no longer able to fight him._

_Disappointed, he left the premises, vowing to live his life searching for that one man who could end him..._

_Though he still acknowledged and unconsciously act upon his most basic instincts to fight in the face of danger, he acknowledged that his existence was unnatural... He wanted to find his end in the hands of anyone who were strong, skilled, or crafty enough._

_And he had failed to find that man in Minato Namikaze. However, he would admit that he showed promise, something that many people had failed to show.  
><em>

...

Halfway through completely shutting him down, Naruto was suddenly punched by the War Beast, who sent him flying for several meters, indicating his weakened state.

Though Naruto was constantly being stopped by him before he could complete shutting his whole body down, it was clear that the War Beast was weakening. And he seemed to acknowledge this fact as well.

"You... have become... the person... who comes the closest in killing me..." he said in a rather exhausted fashion, indicating his closeness to death's embrace, "...Now... Send me away... finish what your father has started... But expect... resistance."

Seeing how he got into a stance, Naruto stood up and asked the man, "You really want to die that badly, do you?"

"...It is my wish... to die not of old age, but from a battle..." he answered, "It's in my blood... my soul... I have not the will to deny my very being. That... is the reason why... I went to the war... despite not taking sides..."

"Commendable of you." Naruto said calmly before he floated upwards with a stern expression, "It is also installed within my very being... the drive that tells me that I must find you. Though admittedly, it is far more convoluted than just that... And approaching the end of this fight, I find myself closer to a sense of fulfillment, a sense of peace that _he _had never achieved..."

Naruto was silent before he added, "He lamented the fact that he failed to persuade you to become more than a death-seeker. But you are set in your way... I see now that he would've failed no matter how hard he tried..."

He then summoned forth another burst of gale as he attacked War Beast's mind, his mental defenses were no longer capable of preventing him from forcing his way through, "You will be weakened, your powers will be robbed from you as I shut down your capability to access them... But it is not me who will send you to the void."

...

_"Come to our location, Haku."_

Hearing Naruto's voice echoing within her head, Haku turned to Sasuke, whose expression indicated that he too heard him, and both of them silently ran towards the location where Naruto and the War Beast were.

Within forty seconds of moving at their topmost speed, they managed to reach the location, where they saw the War Beast standing, though in a rather poor form and battered body, with Naruto floating above him.

Looking at his current state brought a feeling of elation from within Haku. He was brought down to such a state that he once put her master into. In her delirium, she barely heard Naruto speaking...

"If you want to, you can kill him."

She slowly turned her head towards him, and said; "...I-I'm sorry...?"

"You wanted to kill him... So I give you this opportunity, it is up to you to take it or to leave it." Naruto said with such a serious face to the girl whose sole purpose in life was robbed away from her, "I've weakened him. All it takes is a stab to the most vital part of his body and it will end him."

As if she had been given a gift on a silver platter, Haku was, initially, excited and delighted. However, when she took out her Kunai and began to approach him, doubts began to fill in her mind, of her unworthiness in accepting such a gift.

_He _was the one who defeated him soundly, _he _was the one who brought him to such a state, _he _was the one who had the only _right _to kill him. Yet he was giving this opportunity to her... Why?

She stopped in front of the man whose mentality seemed to be unresponsive and quietly asked Naruto... "...Why are you giving me this opportunity? What do you expect out of this?"

Sasuke was also curious and a bit confused. He had won, fair and square, and he could've killed this man anytime he wanted to, yet he was letting Haku kill him? He turned towards the floating blonde young man who seemed to be growing more enigmatic by the day and waited for his response.

And it came not long afterwards, "I wish to see something from you. I know what you are thinking, I... can feel it in my mind, the thought processes that is currently happening inside of you, and I see that though you want to capitalize on this chance, you are conflicted. Give me an answer, Haku... What will you choose, now that you have the chance to kill this man in front of you?"

Haku looked at the War Beast who appeared to be on the verge of death and felt her heart being wrenched by an invisible hand. This wasn't right was what she thought, she did not earn this, he did, to take this away from him, even when he seemed to not mind would be tantamount to betraying him _and _herself for taking away one's right.

Though he had given it to her... she felt no desire to continue with it.

He was the one who defeated him. He must be the one to decide whether or not he wanted him killed. Though she hoped that he would, she had no power over this.

And so she pulled back her kunai and stepped back. "...I won't do it. Zabuza-sama... he won't be proud of me for taking away what I have not earned... Do it, Naruto. Or not. The choice is yours."

Naruto nodded, his expression more relaxed, indicating that he was satisfied with her decision. "Are you content with this?"

Haku nodded, "I acknowledged my incapability. However... I want to see this... If you'd allow me."

Nodding to her way, Naruto approached the War Beast, grasped the sides of his head with his hands and closed his eyes...

...

_The last thing that he remembered was not the corpses that he created, the battlefields that he frequented, or the companion that he had unwittingly taken the leadership of._

_The last image that he saw as his life began to fade was the sight of a middle-aged woman who smiled at him, showing the first act of kindness to the boy who was treated horribly thanks to his status as the son of a mad woman._

_The last feeling that he felt was the warmth that came from experiencing the woman's action and the creases on the edges of his mouth as he procured his very first smile thanks to the innocent and kind gesture..._

...

To his credit, despite becoming a soulless shell of a man otherwise known as a corpse or a cadaver, the War Beast died on his two feet.

The man who sought his death had finally found his rest... Naruto noticed how he seemed to smile.

However, Naruto did not share the same sentiment. He cast his head down, as he realized something, '..I didn't give him a chance to retaliate.' he thought, 'It would've at least given him a sense of fulfillment.'

Despite the fact that the War Beast's death expression showed how fulfilled he was, Naruto felt as if he had been rather overzealous in his attempt to kill him just to satisfy the need of the deceased Yondaime swirling within him. It was quick, decisive, and not to mention, brutal.

He felt as if he should've given him a fight, not a beat-down.

_"What's done is done, though..." _his mother's voice tried to soothe him, _"Naruto, don't be so hung up on this... You've done what you wanted to do, and there's no way to take it back again. Accept it and move on, that's my advice."_

'...A good one, mother.' Naruto responded back, agreeing with her. He then looked over where Haku was, and to his surprise, he saw her expression as calm as she was before, her austerity did not break, even after he did what she wished she could do.

Returning his attention to the War Beast's corpse, Naruto telekinetically lifted the body and said to Sasuke and Haku, "I will show this to the Konoha Shinobi, letting them take the credit. After all, we are not sent here on an official mission unlike them."

He then turned to the two and asked to the girl specifically, "Or do you wish to unceremoniously desecrate his corpse?"

"...Of course not." Haku answered with a bit of rancor to her voice. Though she did not dare to admit that the thought passed her mind when he asked that, hence, the slight hesitation on her part to answer.

Naruto nodded, "Then I suppose I'll see you two in Haku's cave after this is over." and then he flew off towards the village, leaving Haku and Sasuke alone.

Looking over to the girl, the Uchiha boy asked of her, "...How do you feel?"

"...Empty." Haku answered, "Maybe it's because I did not kill the man with my own two hands, but... I have a feeling that this feeling would remain otherwise. Even if I had defeated him with my skills and ability, I do not think I would be more satisfied."

The answer was not what he had expected. "Don't you even feel a slight relief or satisfaction at the thought of his death?" he asked, curious as to why she felt that way, considering how angry she was when she told him of her reason for desiring revenge.

"...Only a small amount." Haku answered, "Not enough to compensate for my obsessive desire that I had indulged in. All that I have been obsessed in, all of them felt worthless to me now."

Her answer shocked Sasuke. He didn't expect her to have such sentiment regarding the death of the person who had took away her most valued person, to actually become rather regretful of her obsession.

"But... perhaps now, I... can actually live." Haku stated in a rather uncertain fashion that seemed rather out-of-character for her. "...Maybe." she added, as if speaking more to herself than Sasuke.

He wasn't sure how to respond to that at first. But the first, most obvious question was, "How are you going to do that?"

Haku cast her head down and said, "...I don't know." she admitted as much, having considered herself as a tool for a long, long time, she did not have the slightest idea on how to live her own life.

Sasuke sighed as he ruffle his hair in slight annoyance at the fact that though he was trying to come up with an idea to help her somehow, his mind was incapable of ding so.

But, in the end, he decided to wing it and said, "...You can join a village. One that is not discriminatory against a person with a rare bloodline."

Haku looked at Sasuke and asked, "...Is this an invitation to join Konoha?"

"...A suggestion." Sasuke answered after a moment in which he appeared rather hesitant for some reason, "There's no harm in it, is there? You are unaffiliated but talented and possess a rare bloodline too. You'll be valued in any village but the one where you originated from." he justified.

As Haku began to contemplate his offer, he sighed and said, "Don't think that you have to decide _now... _We might still have plenty of time. What's important is that you feel free to do whatever you wish, correct? It's what you should focus on, not my offer."

Sasuke saw as Haku began to procure a small smile that was reflected from her eyes as well, a genuine smile after all that she had gone through.

Looking over to where Naruto left, his expression changed as he just realized that there had been something different about Naruto when he looked at him.

'It's his eyes... they're...'

* * *

><p>When the wind died down, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma and the others waited for a couple of minutes before they exited the makeshift shelters that were the villagers' respective houses.<p>

And when they got out, they saw the sky was once again, clear. However, that did not lessen their concern, after all, despite the fact that the bandits had been defeated, the silence after the battle was the moment where they needed to put up their guard in case of another attack or something of the sort.

After all of them were gathered, Kakashi asked, "Though it might seem like all of you are still fine, I'm still going to ask; is everybody okay? Did anyone get hurt?"

His question was met with negative answers from all of them, which was very relieving to say the least.

"And the captured bandits?"

"Still tied up tightly." Asuma answered Kakashi's question. "Still, we should go ahead and check out the outcome of that battle that Naruto had."

"I agree." Kakashi said with a nod, "I will-"

"H-hey! Look! Up there!"

The eyes of everyone there were turned towards where one the villagers were pointing at, which was the sight of two men floating in the air who were gently descending upon the village without any visible means.

When the younger one landed, the one who appeared to be immobile and unresponsive remained floating. The boy had a blonde hair and a pair of...

Wait... red eyes?

"Kakashi-sensei, Asuma-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, and others." Naruto addressed the people whom he knew, "I've defeated him, the War Beast."

With his telekinesis, he placed the War Beast's body on the ground, back first, showing the others the extent of the man's severe injuries on his physical body.

Those who were there were either awed or cowed into a bout of silence. However, Naruto then continued, "To the Jounin who do not know of my presence here, I'm not here because I was sent by the old man. I came here because of my selfishness. Should any of you wish to report me and to take credit for this kill, that is fine by me, after all, I did intervene in a mission that I didn't have the qualification to participate in. However, should you guys need or want any help in continuing the rebuilding of the bridge, I will give the very best of my ability to help."

"W-wait, so... you're not with the people that I called for?" Tazuna asked.

"No."

"A-and, despite the fact that you killed the War Beast, you were not considered to be qualified for it?"

"Technically speaking, I'm a genin. Lowest ranking Shinobi." Naruto answered.

This caused the villagers to whisper to one another in a rather excited fashion. After all, here there was a genin who was able to defeat an enemy that even a group of experienced Jounin could not defeat. He had earned the villagers' adulation by what he did and what he was willing to do.

"W-well, even though you won't be paid, we sure could use your help in accelerating the bridges' building speed, no matter how small of an acceleration it is!" Tazuna said rather excitedly.

Naruto nodded, "I will provide you with assistance in any way that I'm capable."

The villagers then began to crowd around Naruto, thanking him and praising him for killing the man had oppressed the people in Nami no Kuni.

Though Kakashi couldn't help but to be slightly proud of what Naruto now experienced, he knew that there was still a man who was behind the actions that the War Beast had done.

From what he and the others had gathered from Tazuna, there was a man named Gato, a tyrannical tycoon who did not want the bridge to be finished because it would hurt the revenue of his shipping company, which effectively ruled over Nami no Kuni's economy due to lack of land routes.

With the other Jounin scouting over to where the man might be placing himself to overlook the village and the War Beast, they had discerned the location of the man, and now, with his biggest guard out of the way...

They will have a mission to complete tonight.

* * *

><p>"Damn it...! Damn it...!"<p>

Gato muttered in anger and frustration as he is escorted by his bodyguards towards the boat that he would use to escape Nami no Kuni.

After hearing of War Beast's death, Gato knew that there was a chance that he would be sought afterwards. And so, he then quickly devised an escape plan, using one of his boats to escape from Nami no Kuni from a secluded place.

His plans for this place were ruined. But he did not lose. Oh no, he still had a lot of resources, lots of gold too, he would be able to rebuild, and perhaps, one day, he would return here, ten times stronger.

"That useless oaf! How dare he died on my payroll!" Gato grumbled along the way, saying profanities and such as he vented his anger rather impotently.

Then, he arrived near the beach where the boat was shored. It was a medium-sized boat that would take at least forty-people including the crews.

"Set sail for Hi no Kuni! Let's leave this worthless place, let the Konoha have it for all I care!"

His henchmen did as he said, as expected, and he then retire to the captain's room, which was his since he owned the ship. He sat on the single bed that was there and sighed exasperatedly, annoyed at what happened in Nami no Kuni.

Then, he felt a kunai being lined horizontally against his adam's apple. The feeling lasted for a whole second before his throat was sliced, killing him seconds afterwards due to a massive loss of blood and incapability to breathe properly.

A couple of minutes later, from the shores where they sailed off, if one were to stand there and watch, they would see a bright explosion from afar, signalling the destruction of the ship that was made due to the explosive seals that had been stealthily placed.

"Nice work Kakashi."

"It's nothing." Kakashi responded to Asuma's appraisal.

Both of them, along with several other Jounins in the mission who had located a peculiar ship harbored in a rather secluded location, had rigged the ships with explosive not a couple of hours ago. Gato was not fast enough in his decision to leave the place, and so they waited for him to come, to explode the ship when they were far enough.

Kakashi, for extra certainty, had hidden himself in the Captain's room of the ship for several hours to slice Gato's throat to lessen the possibility of him surviving the explosive incident that was to come.

No such thing as an excessive paranoia in assassination missions after all.

"With that, our mission in securing the trade relations between Hi no Kuni and Nami no Kuni is a step closer from completion." Kakashi stated.

* * *

><p><em>Around the same time...<em>

Looking at the mirror in the bathroom of the house that he, Sasuke and Haku was allowed to stay in along with Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai and Tazuna's family members Tsunami and Inari, Naruto saw what Sasuke had told him about.

When he returned to the cave where Haku had been living in, he saw that both of them were expecting him to return. After a few talks about how he's going to help the people in building the bridge, Haku had said this to him...

_"Do you think they can use any help from me?"_

Saying that it was worth a try, the three of them went back to Tazuna, and there, Haku said that she wanted to try helping people anyway she could, saying that she had some talent in herbalism and could be a herbalist for the village.

Though Tazuna was hesitant at first, he acknowledged that such a profession was quite rare in Nami no Kuni, and so he decided to allow her to help.

The three of them were placed in Tazuna's house and was requested to rest for tomorrow, where the building of the great bridge will be resumed once again, especially so after Kakashi had informed him that they will go on a mission to eliminate Gato, which brought a large relief for the old man.

Now, in front of this mirror, Naruto saw an oddity, which was his eye color, that had turned from blue... to red.

'Do you guys have any idea how this could have happened?' he asked his mother and Kurama.

_"Perhaps it's from me." _answered the Bijuu, "_It's the same shade of red as my eyes. I did tell you before that the Crystal let some of my essence seep to you, right? This is a trait that you now inherit."_

_"Or maybe it's a dormant gene that is awakened through a certain stimulus." _Kushina said as he felt her looking over Kurama with scrutinizing eyes, _"Is it possible that what you did cause that as well?" _she asked.

_"...Maybe."_

Naruto and Kushina sighed in a synchronized manner at Kurama's answer. Though they understood that Kurama had never done a lot of experiments of such nature and because of the circumstances regarding Naruto's birth and the Crystal made it so that even Kurama had a hard time in trying to understand what exactly happened, it was still rather bothersome to not have any clear information.

Still, at least he did not have slitted pupils, that was a plus. Though the change in his eye color would no doubt warrant some sort of explanation from Sakura and the others besides Sasuke.

Getting out of the bathroom, he saw that Sasuke was already waiting for him with his arms crossed and his back leaned towards the wall on the opposite side of the bathroom door.

He looked at him, and Naruto said with a shrug, "Well, you were right. However, I don't know what made such a change. Not even Kurama or my mother."

Sasuke, having already received the necessary information from Naruto through mental transference, did not get confused with what he said. "Not even them? Then was it the Crystals'? From what you've shown me... the Crystal turned red from blue when it changed you."

"I don't know." Naruto answered, "As much as it vexes me, I do not know exactly why, but that theory is the most plausible." Naruto admitted, "Change of topic... one that might troubles you... They will send a message to Konoha, a report of what happened here. And they will mention me and you, leaving the village without under a direct order."

"...There's going to be reprimanding huh?" Sasuke asked rhetorically, knowing that would happen. For some reason however, he found that he was not afraid for what the punishment would be. Not that he expected that the punishment would be light, but because he did not regret coming here in the first place.

Finding out about Naruto, his condition, and the minds that were inhabiting his own, all of this was, in his opinion, worth the hassle that would come afterwards. Naruto's seemingly sudden transformation and power were no longer an enigma for him.

What he did was a sign of trust. He at least recognized it as such, considering that the information about Kyuubi's true fate was something that the public of Konoha had no knowledge of. This was a mark of friendship if he had ever seen one.

"Hopefully they would be heavier on me than you. After all, I had the power to refuse your company and I did not use it." Naruto said rather nonchalantly, "Anyway... once we return, it won't be all fanfare and banquets for us."

* * *

><p><em>Konoha, early afternoon.<br>_

Looking at the message that had been sent by Kakashi brought relief to Hiruzen, as he mentioned of Naruto, Sasuke, the mission's success, and what the blonde boy had done.

He managed to defeat War Beast on his own. His corpse had been buried, the bandits under his thumb were either captured or executed, and Gato, the man responsible for the oppression of Nami no Kuni had been murdered to secure the economic trade between Hi no Kuni and Nami no Kuni.

Such news satisfied Hiruzen. Enough so that he considered not to reprimand Naruto and Sasuke for leaving to participate in a mission which they have no right in intervening on.

Still, he would consider the notion until he could come to a decision on whether or not he should give them some form of punishment for what they did. For now, he would send a certain someone to pick up the two Genin from Nami no Kuni, a certain ANBU who would be relieved to know that the Uzumaki boy is alright and well.

* * *

><p><em>Around the same time...<em>

Tazuna turned to Kakashi and said, "You know, you should've told me that there's this kind of guy in your village. I would've asked for him to come along."

The reason why he made such a remark was because he was awed by the sight in front of him. The boy, Uzumaki Naruto was completing the bridge at an exponentially faster rate using his powers. He was floating above the bridge as his mind grasped over the materials needed and manipulate them as needed to mold the bridge.

The awe-inspiring thing about all of this was the fact that he effortlessly did in a few hours what a large number people would not be able to do in several days. The fact that it took several hours was because of how it needed to be specifically built and that he was stretching his capability to multitask, so much so that he had been silent the whole time, with his expression showing how focused and dedicated he was to the work.

He said that he would help the best he could, and it seemed that he did.

The rest of the villagers of Nami no Kuni were also awed by the display of power. The way he applied his power would make everyone think that he was a Kage-level Shinobi who possessed a rare, powerful bloodline, but in truth, he was but a Genin, one who got his power by accident.

Even the Jounins were impressed seeing what he was doing.

"When you told me what you saw... I could barely hold my skepticism." Kurenai said to Asuma, referring to how he told her about how Naruto gave him an astonishing first impression by landing from his flight in the showiest way possible. "Now? I find myself wondering _what_ he is exactly."

Meanwhile, as the noises of Naruto's job echoed throughout the nearby surroundings, Sasuke could be found helping Haku herb picking, to help her calm down more and to gather the ingredients needed to create a healthy concoction from the gathered herbs.

Naruto had said that he wanted to take care of the bridge by himself, and after Kakashi informed them that they had sent a message to the Hokage of their whereabouts, what had happened in Nami no Kuni and how he would send an ANBU to pick both of them up later this afternoon, Sasuke thought that he should at least spend the time between then and the ANBU's arrival doing something.

When he approached Haku to ask what she was going to do, carrying a basket and all, and she offered him to come along, he almost immediately agreed.

It was nearly half an hour of herb picking later that Haku said, "You know, I've thought about what you said, going to Konoha..."

"...Yeah?" Sasuke said, wanting her to continue.

"...I've decided to come with you." Haku answered, "Zabuza-sama had taught me to become someone who could use my talents productively. It would be a waste to let his teachings be left alone because of my idleness. He... I think he would want me to continue on this line of work."

Sasuke actually nodded a bit, the edges of his lips widened ever so slightly, "...Hn, that's good then."

Haku chuckled a bit, "For your village, I assume? After all, my bloodline _is_ quite rare." she said rather teasingly.

"No, I meant for-" Sasuke stopped himself before he could say anything further. Instead, he cleared his throat and said; "Never mind."

Haku turned to look at Sasuke, who seemed to be quite immersed in what he was doing. There was something about what he almost spitted out that made her so curious... However, she decided to let the matter go for now and continue on their activity.

The resulting silence was not all that awkward for the two of them.

It was shortly afterwards that the villagers could see the bridge finally finished. Naruto sat upon the top of the archway leading to the massive bridge which he also built, looking over his creation. Even after all of that, he did not look very exhausted at all due to how the elasticity theory had given him extraordinary stamina in using his powers.

Below him, the others were celebrating, thanking the Shinobi of Konoha, especially Naruto, for what they did.

"Well, then let's give the bridge a name!" Tazuna said out loud to the villagers, "I propose... we call it 'The Great Bridge of Nami no Kuni', how about that everyone?"

The resulting answers consisted of few agreements, some uncertain ones, and those who suggested to think of a better, distinctive name for the bridge.

There were many suggestions, such as 'Bridge of Hope' and 'The Great Bridge of Tazuna' among others, but there was a name that caught on to everyone's mind, spoken by Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami.

"What about The Great Naruto Bridge?" she asked rhetorically, "I mean... think about it, he was the one who defeated the strongest enemy that we had... With him killing the War Beast, he gave us a chance. I think we should honor him."

After that, Tazuna turned to Naruto, who looked rather surprised by the suggestion and asked, "What do you think, Naruto-san? Do you want your name to be immortalized as the name of this bridge?"

It took Naruto a moment of contemplation before he answered Tazuna, "...If you think that it's appropriate, then... There's no reason for me to decline."

"...So is that a yes?" Tazuna asked, rather confused by his answer.

Naruto sighed a bit and nodded, "That is a yes, indeed."

"Well alright then!" Tazuna exclaimed, "From this day forth, this bridge will be named after the hero of Nami no Kuni! This is The Great Naruto Bridge! What do you think?!" he asked the other villagers.

The response that he got was shouts of agreement and thunderous claps from the villagers of Nami no Kuni. It was clear that their hearts were captured when he showed up flying down from the sky, as if an angel from the heavens, carrying the body of the terrifying man.

_"Just like those people back in Shirohane, huh?" _Kurama asked in a rhetorical manner. _"Once again, you become a heroic figure to people that you've saved... Your mother's crying happy tears here."  
><em>

_"Shut up, I'm not!"_ she replied, but her voice gave away the contrary.

Naruto could only shook his head and smiled faintly. He then floated down to the villagers and Konoha Shinobi. He walked over to Kakashi and said "So technically, your mission has been thoroughly completed, correct?" he asked rhetorically, "Do we still have to wait for the ANBU?"

"We should." Kakashi answered, "It would be discourteous to leave now. For now, we'll just stay for a while, ensuring that there will be no more attacks from anyone and when the ANBU arrives, we'll leave immediately."

Naruto nodded at the answer that was given and said, "I'll be nearby then. Don't call me when the ANBU arrives, I'll know it."

With that, he flew off, leaving the other Shinobi in confusion to his last statement. How could he know when the ANBU arrives if he wasn't told?

"Still being an enigmatic asshat isn't he?" Asuma remarked with half-annoyed, half-amused tone before he looked at Kakashi and said; "Kinda reminds me of you actually."

It took Kakashi two whole seconds before he finally turned to Asuma, and it took him another two seconds to say, "Hm? Did you say anything Asuma?"

...

_"Your awareness has been expanded you say?" _Kushina asked, _"How so?"_

'Everything feels... It's as if I can feel the air surrounding me as much as a human hand could feel the feeling of the object it touches." Naruto explained, "Whenever I used my powers before, I can feel the object that I 'grasped' to an extent, but now... it seems that there is an area where I can actually feel everything around me without using my psychokinesis.

"For example, this tree in which I'm sitting on, I can sense that it's alive, how its leaves are now drinking the energy that the sunlight is giving it and how it's slowly growing, both upwards and downwards... I can feel the small insects moving down below, burrowing underground, their nests, their movements... all of them feel so familiar, as if they're a part of me somehow."

Then, Naruto turned his head towards a faraway location and said, "And there, even though I can't see them, are Sasuke and Haku, who are making their way back to the village." he then focused a bit before continuing, "They're bringing a basket filled with herbs... not really familiar with them though. And it seems that both of them are... hm, interesting."

_"...Oooh... Interesting indeed." _said Kurama after Naruto gave the mental information to both of them.

Naruto then decided to change the topic of the conversation by saying, "Anyway, the conclusion that I have reached is that this awareness is a by-product of the increase in power of my psychokinesis. Analogically speaking, my psychokinesis is similar to a nervous system, in a way that my unconscious and conscious thoughts are the source of my body's movements, from my heartbeat to my capability to walk, all of it are the result of the neural impulses from my brain that is received by the central nervous system and redirected to the appropriate locations on the body."

He then lifted his right index finger and continued, "However, my psychokinesis allows me to control everything outside my physical body. I can _touch _things without the use of my hands. I assume that it's only a matter of time before I become _aware _of everything around me due to my power. I am actually subconsciously _touching _my surroundings with my power, and as if I am touching them with the tips of my fingers, I am absorbing many information from many sources surrounding me, from the structure of the leaves that allows them to absorb energy from sunlight to a specific emotion of a human being that is made due to the chemical reactions within their brain that affects their thinking."

Then, he finished his explanation by saying, "Essentially, I've become a part of the universe that are more aware of everything around me and can control them to a spectacular degree. Don't know whether I should be fascinated or frightened, considering that this would mean that I'm less and less of a human as time goes on."

_"Meh, being human is too overrated anyway."_

_"Kyuubi!"_

_"Besides, what defines a man anyway? Their physical weaknesses and limitations? No, what defines them are their drives, their desires, their hatred, their urges, those are the things that makes humans human. It's not you becoming less of a human, it's more about you becoming more than what you were born as."_

_"But this is something that we should be concerned with! Whatever's happening to him seems to be unstoppable, we have to put a lid to it somehow, or else...!"_

'-Or else I become something incomprehensible to humans.' Naruto answered his mother with a flat tone of voice, 'It's a bit late to prevent that, considering that I've already reached this stage. Still... I find myself a bit curious about this development too. Let's let them unfold for now.'

Though Kushina was rendered rather uneasy by how Naruto seem to be taking all of this in stride, she couldn't help but to think that this was how her husband, his father, would react had he were placed in a similar situation. Cool and composed to a ridiculous degree in times where it's normal to not behave as such.

Naruto then turned his head towards the direction of the village for a split second before he made his way to Sasuke.

Landing in front of the two, Naruto caught the attention of both Haku and Sasuke, and the latter said to him, "Naruto. What is it? What's going on?" he asked, assuming that Naruto had arrived to tell them something.

"The ANBU's here." Naruto answered his question, "Let's go meet her. If there's anything you want to say Haku, say it on our way to her."

With Naruto's lead, they paced a little bit faster, midway, Haku asked Naruto, "How do you know that I have something to say?" she questioned.

"Because I can feel the impulses of your brain." Naruto answered with complete honesty without bothering to look back, "From there, I can gather the needed information. However, I do not want to pry into your mind, so by all means, tell me what it is that you wish to speak out."

Haku was unnerved by how easily Naruto told her that he could very well invade her mind to find out what she wanted to talk about. However, noticing that he decided not to, she opted to tell him nonetheless. After all, she was very thankful of him to kill the War Beast. "...Very well..."

* * *

><p>"He said that he would know if you've arrived." Kakashi said with a smile that was hidden beneath his mask. "He has become quite mysterious, hasn't he? Perhaps he's taking notes from his teacher."<p>

"I don't know whether to take that as a good news or a bad news." Neko dryly remarked to the man who was once an ANBU agent known as Inu.

When he was ordered by the Hokage to go to Nami no Kuni as fast as she could to retrieve Sasuke and Naruto, she immediately did that and more, exerting herself to her absolute fullest to reach Nami no Kuni at said time, and ended up arriving a little bit earlier than she was supposed to.

She was glad that both of them were alright. However, her concern converted into slight anger and frustration at the fact that both of them had been rather reckless in their escapade.

When she arrived, the first thing she did was to ask where the two Genin were, and Kakashi responded with the aforementioned answer, "Still, how would he know that I've arrived if he's not here?"

"Don't ask us." Asuma said with a shrug, "Maybe it's one of his abilities now." he suggested.

"Oh. There they are."

Kurenai's voice after a couple of seconds of silence made everyone turn to her and then to where she was looking. They saw Naruto and Sasuke along with a girl wearing a Kirigakure-styled Shinobi get-up.

Naruto smiled when he saw the familiar ANBU, "Neko-san. The old man sent you I presume?"

Though hidden beneath the ceramic cat mask, she procured a smile and said, "How else do you think I came to be here?" she asked in a rhetorical manner, "Hokage-sama ordered me to escort you two back to Konoha post-haste. You two will be reprimanded because of what you did, do you understand?"

Naruto nodded as Sasuke cast his head down, rather bothered but accepting what was to come. Then, the blonde said, "We understand. However, we would like to take an extra person with us to Konoha post-haste as well." he pointed to Haku as he said so, "Is this acceptable to you?"

It took Neko a couple of seconds before she responded with, "...I don't see why not. But what's your reason for taking her with us?"

"Important business to say the least." Naruto answered rather cryptically, "Nevertheless, should we go now or should we wait for a couple of minutes more?"

"The faster the better, but if you have something that you need to do here first, then do so quickly. I will wait here." Neko informed the three of them, prompting Naruto to answer...

"Very well then, we just want to let Haku pay some respect to her late mentor." Naruto answered, "His grave is somewhere around here, we'll be back in half an hour at the latest, we'll try to be as fast as we could."

Neko nodded, prompting the three to look at each other before nodding in synch. Haku then left with Sasuke while Naruto followed, the strange trio cast an equally peculiar image to behold, of a trio that found a link to one another through a weird circumstance that led them to their current relationship.

The ANBU woman couldn't help but to think how this relationship came to be. Especially since Kakashi spoke nothing of the Haku girl in his letter.

So, she turned towards the masked man and said; "Mind telling me something that you had not reported to the Hokage, Kakashi?"

Kakashi nodded with a nod and an easy-going looking smile of his and said; "Was about to do that anyway."

* * *

><p>'So that belonged to Zabuza once.' Naruto thought at the sight of the familiar blade that became a makeshift headstone for the grave of the Swordsman of the Mist.<p>

Haku was standing in front of the man's grave, casting her head down solemnly as she kept her silence, a moment of vigil for the fallen swordsman.

Naruto and Sasuke watched from behind, far away from her to give her some needed privacy for her to be able to pay her respect for one Zabuza Momochi on her own, Sasuke leaned his back on a tree while Naruto was content in sitting with his legs crossed... while floating two meters above the ground.

Both of them had their arms crossed as they watched Haku, one's gaze was fully focused on her while the other's gaze was a gaze that conveyed other thoughts swirling inside his mind.

From even far away from their position, Kakashi and Neko watched the three young people with interest apparent in their eyes.

The former had told the latter of the intricate details of the events that happened, most particularly regarding how Haku came to be close to them, which he received from Naruto through his power that allowed him to give information at an impossibly fast rate through mental connection.

She would be a welcome addition to the village's roster, Neko would admit as much. A rare bloodline was always something that a Ninja village would welcome with open arms... It's just that Kirigakure had some internal troubles that also boggled Konoha.

"Still... why did he feel as if he needed to come here?" Neko asked for she had not been given that particular detail, due to how Kakashi said that it was confidential between teammates along with between a student and a teacher.

"A sense of justice perhaps?" Kakashi offered light-heartedly, "Still, he did acknowledge that it was a selfish reason. At least give him that."

Knowing that she would not get anywhere with this particular line of question, Neko decided to move on and said to Kakashi, "I suppose that whatever his reason was, it doesn't really matter. What _does_ actually matter is the fact that he's alright."

Kakashi looked at Neko, and though the mask had no expression, he had a feeling that he knew what expression that she was making, especially when her tone of voice changed from her relatively neutral tone of voice that was the result of emotional training course that an ANBU had to go through to a relieved tone of voice.

Both of them were the two members of ANBU that watched over Naruto the most in the past, and though she, unlike him, did not have any blatant connection towards him, no matter how faint it was, she came to care about him because she understood that Naruto was an innocent kid cast into circumstances beyond his control.

It made sense to Kakashi that she would be relieved, more than that, it was what he expected, and she did not disappoint.

"So." Kakashi started, "What does the Hokage has in plan for the two of them? You said that they would be reprimanded, but how hard of a punishment is it going to be?"

"I don't know." Neko said with complete honesty, "I couldn't get a good read on that when he gave me the order, but he's a pretty stern man when it comes to it... But don't worry, I'm sure that it won't be too bad of a punishment, perhaps a few consecutive D-rank missions for one or two weeks." answered Neko.

"Hm..." Kakashi only hummed, seemingly amused by the current progress of events.

After a couple of minutes of more silence, they saw the three of them began to walk away from the grave with the massive blade as its headstone towards their position. Jumping down from their elevated position, the two of them met with the trio, and Neko said, "Are you ready now?"

Haku nodded slowly, and it prompted the purple-haired ANBU to say, "Very well then. Let us leave with haste."

* * *

><p><em>Shortly afterwards in Konoha...<br>_

Hiruzen was sipping a green tea to relax for a bit after a monotonous hard day's work that had become his occupation ever since he was chosen by the younger of his two teachers. Being a leader in times of peace meant a lot of paperwork, and though it bored him greatly, it's something that he acknowledged as important.

During the past few hours, his mind was focused on the work that he almost forgot that he was supposed to reprimand the two genin and went off to participate on a mission without his permission.

Though it was not that troublesome since he had planned on giving them something that was not too hard of a punishment. Considering that he had finished the day's worth of work and that those that were due tomorrow had already been done, he decided to retrieve the thought of the punishment that he should give Naruto and Sasuke from the back burner and come to a decision.

In the end, he was interrupted when the door of his office was opened, and there was Neko, along with Naruto, Sasuke... and a girl that he had no recollection of. From the lack of Konoha's forehead protector, it seemed that she was from outside of Konoha, but not from any Shinobi Villages.

"Neko, Naruto, Satsuki, welcome." Hiruzen said rather calmly before he continued, "Where are the rest of you?" he asked.

"We... came here through other method." Neko answered.

"Ah. Of course." Naruto brought them here, that explained why they were early. He then turned to the yet-to-be-named girl and asked, "Who might you be miss?'

"My name is Haku. Momochi Haku." she answered, using Zabuza's family name as her own, "I am here to request your willingness in integrating me into Konoha. In addition to being a Kunoichi, I am also well-knowledgeable about herbs and possess a rare bloodline known as Hyoton(Ice Release), please seriously consider my request, most honorable Hokage." Haku finished with a low, respectful bow.

Hiruzen was rather taken aback by her declaration, enough so that it took him quite some time before he could formulate a response, "At ease, child. I'll address your request after I deal with my two Genin first."

Haku straightened her back rigid and looked rather embarrassed by her sudden outburst, "O-oh yes! Of course, I-I apologize." she meekly said.

"It's alright, your offer will be considered, I assure you." Hiruzen assured her before he turned to Naruto and Sasuke, "Now... Naruto. Sasuke. What you two did was reckless and potentially endangering. Tell me, who is it that initiate this 'field trip' in the first place?"

"It was me." Naruto said without hesitation, "I had the chance to discourage Sasuke from leaving, but I didn't. It's my fault."

"Hey, it's my fault as well." Sasuke retorted, "You told me that I could either go or walk away, and I chose the former, I had the choice to leave, but I didn't take it, that also puts me at fault here."

"But _I_ was the one who wanted to go in the first place." Naruto rebutted.

"However, I could've said no when I said yes." Sasuke shot back.

"It's my fault." Naruto said.

"_No,_ it's mine." Sasuke said.

Seeing both of them willing to take the blame instead of placing them on the other brought a small smile to Hiruzen's face. He then said this to the boys who were frowning at each other, "You two shares the blame. Naruto was the one who initiated it and didn't discourage you from coming, however, Sasuke is also at fault because you actually had the choice to leave and not coming with him, so both of you were in the wrong."

Hiruzen's statement struck true, and it made both boys look slightly guilt-ridden."...Then... we'll accept whatever punishment you'll give us, old man." Naruto said to Hiruzen.

Sasuke nodded in assent to Naruto's statement, accepting that it was coming anyway and it would be better to just accept it now rather than trying to bargain with the Hokage to make the punishment as light as possible.

For a couple of minutes, the Hokage propped his elbows on his desk, clasped his hands together right in front of his face before he finally said, "...Your punishment... will be..."

The room was silent for a few seconds before Hiruzen finally finished it with...

"...None."

There was a few seconds of silence before Naruto responded, "None?" he said, as if asking, "Why?"

"I see no need to." Hiruzen answered, "You two knew that you're in the wrong and is willing to take the blame for the other, to discipline you two even more after that show would be stupid of me. Both of you are quite mature to accept your mistakes, and with that in mind, I see it fit to let this one slide. After all, what you did is not something that is detrimental to the village at large."

Hiruzen then smiled brightly and finished it with, "Therefore, you will not be reprimanded. However, should you do this again in the next couple of days, I will endeavor to punish you two, are we clear?"

Seeing the point that he made, Naruto nodded, "We are, old man." he answered.

"...I suppose." Sasuke answered rather uncertainly. Though he was glad that he won't be punished, he was still rather bewildered.

"Now. Momochi Haku-san, let's talk about your potential inclusion to this village..."

* * *

><p>Sakura had been rather miserable recently. Why? It was because of the fact that her teammates, Naruto and Sasuke, were nowhere to be found.<p>

She had thought that the day offs would be a good chance to get closer to Sasuke and try to get his attention. She had some... subtler methods that she wanted to try, but because of his lack of presence, she was not able to enact them.

Naruto's disappearance... also bothered her. She didn't know why, but lately, she felt drawn to him after his change in personality.

"I know what you mean, Naruto is a bit more... I don't know how to say it more succinctly, but... adult-like?" said her friend Ino as both of them were sitting at the same table in a dumpling shop, "It feels weird, but... there's definitely something alluring about him now."

Looking at how Ino looked with her mischievous smile and the way her eyebrows were raised slightly, Sakura felt annoyed somehow. But nevertheless, she responded back, "Well, I can't say that I _don't _like the way he is now, but... Do you know what he said to me a couple of days back?"

"No, what?" Ino said, somewhat intrigued.

"I asked him if he's still in love with me, and he answered that he's... grown out of it." Sakura said as she felt as if there was something burdening her when she spoke that sentence.

"...Whoa... really?" Ino said, rather bewildered by what Sakura said, "Didn't expect that from him, I mean he's been smitten with you ever since we were little and..." she stopped as she began to look at Sakura, who, after a couple of minutes of scrutinizing from her friend said...

"W-what?"

"...Are you... _bothered _by him getting over you?"

Sakura blushed rather hotly as she yelled, "W-what are you talking about?! Wh-why the hell would I be bothered by that?!"

"You are aren't you?!" Ino exclaimed as she pointed her finger to her madly blushing face, "Ohohohooo! The irony! The moment the smitten boy who she finds as annoying got over her, she decides that she does like him after all!" Ino said before she began to laugh.

"T-take it back Ino-buta!" Sakura said as she leaped towards her laughing blonde friend and began to wrestle her out of bout of anger and frustration that she couldn't properly explain, even if she weren't so mad.

After a couple of seconds of fighting, Ino, who was on the bottom, holding the fringes of Sakura's hair while Sakura was grabbing her ponytail, caught something on her eyesight, "Oh hey, that's Sasuke-kun!"

Her exclamation made the pinkette look, and true, there was her Uchiha teammate.

"Sasuke-ku-"

Before she could call him, she saw something that bothered her once again, which was the sight of Sasuke actually _talking _to a rather pretty girl at his side, looking as if he tolerated if not outright _enjoyed_ her company.

"...What the..."

The sight brought silence to the two girls who fancied Sasuke... Silence that reigned over them even a couple of minutes after they were gone.

After which, Ino was the first one who said...

"What the hell?!"

Sakura, on the other hand, was silent. Seemingly shocked into muteness.

* * *

><p>Arriving back home, Sasuke Uchiha released a sigh. After it was decided that Haku will be integrated into Konoha's ranks, the Hokage would find a place to stay for her while she crash at Naruto's place.<p>

Naruto had requested Sasuke to give her a little tour of Konoha while he prepared his apartment for her temporary stay, which, after a moment of hesitation, he agreed.

It was... interesting to say the least. Haku was not an awfully talkative person, but once she talked, it was never about something that killed his interest such as gossips, fashionability among girls or something of the sort.

Perhaps it was because of the abundance of worldly experience that she had, but he found that he could relate to her and actually enjoy her company, more than he suspected, even.

In fact, he wouldn't mind if he were to do some sort of activity with her again. Perhaps a mission together or something of the sort?

Still, such thoughts should be reserved for the future. At the present moment, he wanted to do nothing but to quickly eat, take a bath, then sleep, in that particular order of events.

But when he arrived at the dining room to reach the kitchen, he saw something that he didn't expect.

There was a man clad in the darkness of the room, sitting on the dining table, his back facing him and the glare of light that came from the window in front of him obscured him in shadows.

In shock, he failed to react accordingly to the presence of an intruder in his house within a short time. It was not until he turned his head eighty degrees to the right and smirked towards him that Sasuke quickly pulled out of his kunai and got into a defensive stance.

But by then, he was gone.

Sasuke was bewildered by how _fast _he disappeared. And it was as if he simply vanished out of thin air.

'...Was I hallucinating?' Sasuke thought, perhaps it was just his eyes playing tricks on him, but... that felt too real for him to disregard it as a mere hallucination.

Out of suspicion and slight fear, he checked the entire household for any sign of an intruder or two.

Within an hour of thorough checking from the front entrance to the house to the small closet in his bedroom, he found that his fear was unfounded. There was no intruder, nor were there any signs of them in his house.

'So what was I saw back there?' he thought for a moment before he dismissed it. Though he swore to find out more about it later, he wanted to finish the day after his little misadventures in Nami no Kuni with the his troublemaker of a friend, who was known as Naruto Uzumaki.

...

When Sasuke found himself lying on the bed in the bedroom that he used since he was little despite the fact that he could've used the master bedroom, he closed his eyes in an attempt to bring himself into that state of blissful unconsciousness known as 'sleeping'.

However, after the arrival of that mysterious intruder, he was having trouble getting himself asleep. Still, that didn't stop him from trying, and so he uncomfortably rolled around in his bed, trying to get some sleep.

After what felt like hours, he then heard the voice of someone speaking from afar.

He opened his eyes... and what he saw was not the ceiling of his bedroom, and what he felt on his back was not the feeling of the soft, comfortable bed that he thought he was lying on just a moment ago.

He quickly sat up and looked around, and his eyes were treated at the sight of a drab-looking, seemingly endless place colored in dull gray.

"...Where the hell am I?"

_"...And that's my beef with you."_

The voice, faint as it was, echoed throughout the space, and Sasuke managed to hear it. Who was it? Why did the voice feel so familiar to his ears despite the fact that he had never heard of it before.

_"Did you really think that you can completely defeat human nature? Or human ingenuity?"_

Driven by his desire to know what the hell was going on, Sasuke stood up and began to approach the figure far away from him, from whence the sound came.

_"Humans will always find themselves in conflict. Seriously, your method can work, but if you thought that you could make humans peaceful just with your Ninshu, you were very, very wrong, _dear forerunner."_  
><span>_

When he was near enough, Sasuke could see that there were two people, floating for twenty centimeters above the 'ground', suspended by something invisible. One of them was a strange-looking robe-wearing old man with two horns protruding from his forehead and a monk staff known as khakkhara, which he was able to see because he was facing his way.

He could only see the back of the other one, but from what he was able to gather, his hair was of the bright blonde that seemed to have traces of white, his clothing consisted of a pair of black cargo pants and a crimson-colored, long-sleeved jacket which was able to somehow defy gravity, as despite its length, it did not drag on the 'ground'.

"Ah, there you are."

The voice of the man whose back was the only part of him that he could see stopped Sasuke. The man did not turn his head towards him, but the other one did, and his frown was quite unnerving, as it was clear that he seemed to be withholding a fair amount of anger on a tight leash.

"Sorry, I took the opportunity to chat with this guy for a bit through your soul. He's a transcendental migrant you see, and with a right pull, he could be summoned here, in the dimension where the rules of the fourth dimension does not really apply."

He then twirled himself vertically so that he was upside down. The action allowed Sasuke to see his grinning face, upon which, he recoiled in shock at the sheer likeness that strange person had with a certain someone.

"I only want to talk to him about some things that just bugs me. Sure, I've done it once before in another place and time and with another version of this guy, but it's always fun to criticize a senior citizen for their oversight in the past, especially one such as this guy." he said as he pointed his thumb towards the strange horned man behind him. "Hohoho... you have no idea how much I like lecturing him."

"...Y-you... You're... How come you look a lot like-"

"Whoa whoa... slow down there Sasuke." The man said in an attempt to calm him down, "Why don't you sit down with us? Have a chat, and see where all of this will come down to?"

Then suddenly, the space warped, and somehow, Sasuke found himself in a small room walled with sliding doors with four pillow seats that had already been occupied with the strange blonde man and the horned old man.

On the hand of the blonde man, there was a sakazuki filled with sake, which he extended to the still shocked Sasuke, and then he said...

"It'll only cost you a moment of your time. Come. Sit." His grin then widened as he added, "I _insist._"

Sasuke thought he had his share of crazy but affable blonde... But now it seemed as if the universe had thrown him into an unpredicted, staggering turn of events...

But one question still lingered on his mind...

Why does the blonde man, who looked at least a decade and a half older than him look so similar to Naruto?

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>

* * *

><p>To sum up, Naruto defeated the War Beast, received no punishment from Hiruzen, Haku is accepted to Konoha, and things seemed to be going towards the way of the canon... Until Hagoromo Ootsusuki showed up along with a man who looked like an older version of Naruto in what seems to be Sasuke's dream.<p>

Now, one question that you need to ask yourself regarding the ending is this: Is this Naruto his future self? Or his Alternate Self? The answer is...? Find out in the next chapter.

**2.**


	10. Chapter 9: Onwards to the Unseen Future

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**A.N:** The answer to the question asked in the previous chapter, whether the Naruto in the ending is his Future Self or his Alternate Self is... Yes. Both of them are the right answer.

Anyway, as was said before, this chapter is the end of Chronicle: Naruto Uzumaki. So please, see my author's note at the end of this chapter.

**1...**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: Onwards to the Unseen Future.<br>**

* * *

><p>When Haku woke up early at four in the morning, she thought that she would do something nice for Naruto and make some breakfast out of any ingredients that was available in his apartment.<p>

Not only did he kill the War Beast, but he also helped her become a Shinobi of Konoha, allowing her to use this talent of hers in productive manner. Then he also gave her a place to stay while it was being taken care of. The least she could do was to thank him in some way, no matter how small of an act it was.

However, when she got to the main area, she saw Naruto floating above the sofa with his legs crossed and his hands rested on his knees.

"Morning." Naruto said to Haku, telekinetically rotating his floating body to face her. She saw how the eyebags of his closed eyes seemed rather blackened somewhat, an indication that he either slept for only a few hours or he had been awake ever since last night.

"Morning." Haku replied back, already used to Naruto showing his power so casually. "Did you have any sleep?"

"No." Naruto answered without a sign that he was exhausted despite the fact that he had a pair of faint black eyebags. "I've been awake for hours, testing myself to see how much my awareness and control has been expanded."

She recalled him telling her that once. He said that he had gotten more powerful, hence, why he was able to defeat the War Beast without permitting him to even retaliate. Deciding to humor him, she asked, "And what's the conclusion?"

Naruto opened his now red-colored eyes, looked at Haku and said, "My power has become exponentially stronger." was his answer, "It now stands at at least ten times stronger than before... In addition to that, I could also feel everything around me, living and non-living entities as if they were a part of me. It's safe to say that I can use my power more effectively as I actually _am _my surroundings."

"...Even... It even encapsulates me?" Haku asked.

"...Apologies." Naruto suddenly said, "But yes, even you. I'm... still trying to rein it, but I can actually feel your fear, the electrical impulses in your brain that made you do so is my source of information, obscure as it's supposed to be."

Discomfort was a fitting word to describe Haku's current sentiment. After all, his capability to _feel _everything at a limited proximity as if the things within that boundary were a part of his body was quite terrifying.

At the hands of another, she might be terrified. But she could trust Naruto despite the power that he held. "Would you... like for me to make you a breakfast?"

Naruto's eyebrows rose up to that question, indicating that he did not pry too deeply to her mind that he already knew that she was going to offer him such a thing, "Certainly, but I recall that there's no ingredient for you to work on besides instant ramen."

"Really? Just ramen?" Haku asked, somewhat disappointed that she could not even make him a breakfast, "Mind if I check thoroughly? You might've missed something." she insisted.

"If you wish." Naruto said with a nod, and with that Haku left for the kitchen.

_"Well well, looks like you got yourself a fan." _Kurama remarked at how Haku easily offered to do such a thing to him, _"Kushina... what do you think of her?"_

_"Appearance-wise? Not bad, couldn't really complain about that." _was Kushina's answer, _"I also like her attitude. Calm, collected, devoted, for potential girlfriends, she's not that bad Naruto."  
><em>

After a few seconds of silence, Naruto responded back, '...Are you two done playing parents? Besides her doing this just to show her gratitude, I just don't feel that way about her. Sasuke does.'

He had to admit that the notion of playing matchmaker for the two of them tempted him a bit. He could tell that Haku was a bit attracted to Sasuke and he was also attracted to her, and that with a little push, they could be together.

Still, he had decided to let the events pertaining to the hook-up unfold by itself, either it was meant to be or not, he would let it happen on its own.

Besides that, he had something that troubled him during the previous night. It was about the mental signal that he received from somebody during his stay in Nami no Kuni, whose sender was one that he wanted to find out.

There's a possibility that there was someone like him, someone who absorbed the powers from the mysterious Crystals and gained similar powers, not like the War Beast. However, considering the fact that Naruto had just begun a new phase in familiarizing himself with his increased power, the blonde had decided to at least spend some time minding his own business.

"You have some ingredients in your fridge Naruto." Haku said, breaking Naruto out of his reverie. He floated towards where Haku were, and saw that he had an enough amount of ingredients to make a healthy breakfast if he were able to make one for himself.

"...Now who would do such a thing?" Naruto wondered to himself, knowing that it was not him who provided such resources.

On another location in Konoha, an ANBU kunoichi with long purple hair who was just beginning to disrobe herself from her ANBU get-up rubbed her nose slightly, as if feeling a sneeze coming before it was gone.

'Is someone talking about me?' she wondered before she shrugged it off and continued to undress herself from her ANBU set of clothing.

"Well then..." Haku said with a noticeable satisfaction apparent in her tone of voice, "Let's see what I can make out of these."

When that statement was followed with her tinkering in the kitchen using Naruto's limited cookware, his mind began to turn to what he had found during the night session of training.

There were one spot within the area of Konoha where his awareness was unable to pry through. When he mapped out the layout of the village in his mind, he discovered that that particular spot was the Uchiha district. However, the spot was too small for it to encompass the whole district, and so he deduced that it must be covering something else.

Then, he came to the realization that it was Sasuke. When he managed to feel the presence of almost everyone in the village, one person that he did not manage to find was Sasuke, who was in this 'dark spot'.

He had sent a Kage Bunshin to scope things out from afar, but until now, the clone had not returned, meaning that there wasn't anything good to report as of yet.

For now, he was willing to wait. The 'dark spot' could either be created through his lack of power or the action of a third party.

'Hopefully it's the former.' was what Naruto thought, as the implication regarding the latter was quite unnerving for him to consider.

* * *

><p>Sakura was hesitant as she stood in front of the door leading to Naruto's apartment. She wanted to talk about Sasuke, considering that both of them seemed to disappear at the same time, she deduced that they might've gone off together, doing who knows what.<p>

The reason as to why she didn't go directly to Sasuke's house was because she felt that she should not seem pushy and intrusive. Having done some retrospection regarding Sasuke, she decided to not be like how she was before so that she could have a better chance to earn his attraction.

However, she found out how hard it was to lift her hand and knock on his door after he said, without any hesitance or any semblance of lying whatsoever, that he had gotten over her.

Why? Why was it bothering her so much? Sure, he changed a bit to be a somewhat cool guy with unique powers, but did that mean that he was the one she fancied now?

'No. No, of course not, he's just a friend, a teammate of mine, nothing more and that's the way I prefer it.' Sakura said to herself before she recollected herself and knocked the door twice, signalling the one residing inside the apartment.

A moment later, she saw the door opened, though no one was there to physically open it. '...Must be his power...' Sakura thought before she slowly walked closer to the interior of the house, all the while saying, "Pardon the intrusion..."

"Come in Sakura." was Naruto's voice carried through from where he was and to her ears.

Acting on the given permission, Sakura walked over to the dining room, where she saw Naruto having his breakfast... along with the pretty girl that she had seen with Ino just yesterday, the one who accompanied Sasuke.

Caught in shock, Sakura could only stare in silence as Naruto turned to her and said; "Morning. What brings you so early to my humble abode?" he asked, as if not noticing how Sakura seemed to have trouble composing herself, which, as it turned out, he was aware of, as he continued with; "Perhaps to gawk at the girl sitting beside me? Sakura, this is Haku Momochi, a friend that I recently helped. Haku, this is Sakura Haruno, my teammate."

The girl whom she can now identify with her name, Haku, said this with a smile, "Pleased to meet you Sakura-san." she greeted her, nonchalant about her presence.

"H-hi..." Sakura said weakly as she waved her hand. "U-um... I saw you yesterday, walking with Sasuke-kun... W-who are you... to him?"

"Now _that's_ a good question to ask to someone you just met." Naruto sarcastically remarked before he took a bite of the rather tasty porridge that Haku had concocted with the limited ingredients available.

Haku smiled, as if the question didn't bother her and said, "Ah, well, Sasuke-san and I are merely acquaintances. However, I must admit that I see his company as a welcome presence." was her answer.

Faced with Haku's nonchalant answer and admittance that she made without even sporting a blush, Sakura found herself confused as to what she should say. Strangely enough, she didn't feel as angry as she could've been despite the fact that this Haku girl managed to do something that she and the other girls in the Academy had failed to do for years, which was to actually have a conversation with him and for him to actually enjoy her company.

"Sakura, why are you here for?" Naruto asked, getting to the point of the problem as her presence in his apartment was a rare occurrence in itself.

"Uh... right, I was wondering, where have you and Sasuke been? You've been gone for a couple of days, there were no news where you've gone too, so... where did you guys go?" she asked rather abashedly due to a reason that escaped her.

"We went to Nami no Kuni. A country south of Hi no Kuni. That's where we met Haku here." Naruto said as he gestured his hand towards the raven-haired girl with the rather demure appearance which was augmented by her homely clothing that she chose to wear, which consisted of a blue kimono dress.

"Oh." Sakura said, rather satisfied that she now knew, but not so much so, as she didn't know _why _they were there, "What did you two do there?"

Naruto's choice of words to retell the story was concise and to the point, he told Sakura the story from the very beginning, from how Naruto wanted to go on his own to Nami no Kuni, but ended up taking Sasuke with him.

It only took him ten minutes to tell the whole story. Omitting some parts of course, such as him telling Sasuke and Kakashi why his personality became so different from the one that she was familiar with.

"Hm..." Sakura muttered in understanding as she sat on the dining table along with Naruto and Haku, "That's very daring for the two of you... Didn't know that Sasuke-kun is actually the daring type..."

"Both of us were driven by our selfish needs, mine and his." Naruto answered Sakura, "It's very unlikely that we'll do that kind of thing again, so don't worry about any re-dos."

Though Sakura was relieved that both of them got home safely after what they experienced, looking at the person in front of her, the girl named Haku, she actually felt rather threatened. Why? She had the capability and the competence in becoming a kunoichi, and considering Naruto's approval that she sensed in his tone of voice, she felt as if she were rather weak in her presence.

"I... I see." Sakura said regarding his latest statement.

Then a long moment of silence followed as Naruto and Haku focused on eating the porridge that the latter made. Sakura was silent as she pondered on what she should be talking about.

'Should I start a conversation about the weather? Should I talk about the recent gossips? No, he wouldn't be interested in that last one... Damn it, why is this so hard...?! And why am I being too wishy-washy about this? I mean it's Naruto, we've known each other for-'

She stopped that train of thought right then and there, as her uncertainty on what she should talk about or how she should converse casually with Naruto made her realize how little she knew of him, his past self or his current self.

Sakura had always considered Naruto as an annoying but affable friend, if not an acquaintance. However, considering how she used to treat his awkward, boisterous exclamations of his crush with physical inflictions, usually punches to his face, combined with some loud... obnoxious... derogatory mouth-offs that he really did not deserve... and then continue to treat him that way because of how persistent he was, simply because she wanted someone to validate her without even having a single moment in their history of 'knowing' one another that they spent without her being dismissive if not outright vitriolic towards him...

Not to mention how she continued to treat Sasuke the opposite of how she treated Naruto with glee and outright ignoring how that must've felt for him...

...A friend? She was his _friend_?

As Naruto finished his porridge, he turned to Haku and said to her with a grateful smile; "Thanks for that Haku, it was very tasty."

The girl merely nodded, satisfied that she was able to provide Naruto, and gave him a small thank you in return.

Naruto then looked to Sakura, and he saw how she cast her head down with a grim, regretful expression. Feeling the impulses on her brain, Naruto knew that she was troubled, but as to why, he did not know, so he was left to either assume, pry her mind or to ask her directly.

"Sakura, are you alright?" he asked, deciding not to intrude her mind.

"H-huh?" Sakura said as she tilted her head up, "O-oh, I'm alright, I'm alright, I just... I'm okay, really." she said with a tight smile, an expression that conveyed how she tried to appear as if she was fine, but the truth was the exact opposite.

To Naruto, this was not the first time that she had done this. When he told her how he had lost his crush over her, he saw how she seemed rather shocked, but he assumed that it might be because of how sudden and certain he was when he gave his answer.

The reason for this particular change of emotion confused him somewhat... But he decided that it probably had to do with something other than him and so he said, "If you say so... Anyway, I want to visit Sasuke, do you want to come along?"

Still in her troubled state, Sakura's answer came purely out of instinct, stuttering as she was, "O-oh... um... I... s-sure I guess, w-why not? Heh..." was what came out of her mouth.

Then, she turned her head slightly away from him, as if avoiding the very sight of him.

She felt guilty, she felt ashamed, the realization that she hasn't been a good _schoolmate _let alone a good _friend _suddenly crashed down upon her that she wasn't able to compose herself as the boy that she had a hand in what was tantamount to bullying was right there at her side, the boy who had become her teammate, the boy who...

...Who somehow bothered her so.

Noticing how she had become even more distressed, Naruto asked, "Are you sure that you're alright?"

Sakura bit her lip slightly before she answered his question, "I said I'm fine, I'm alright, okay?"

Naruto sighed at her complex, confusing behavior before he stood up and said, "Let me change into something else first then, you can wait here if you like."

With that, he left for his room, leaving Sakura alone with Haku.

After a couple of seconds of silence, the latter asked the former one question, "Do you perhaps, like him, Sakura-san?"

For a moment there, Sakura was confused as to who she was referring to, leading her to say, "O-of course not! W-why would you assume that I like Naruto?!" she asked in a rather loud fashion.

"...I was referring to Sasuke." Haku said after a second, knowing where the source of the misunderstanding lied.

Caught off-guard, Sakura began to blush uncontrollably, her sweat glands produced their products at a hefty amount, the edges of her lips trembled as it widened, showing a rather uneasy smile, and she diverted her eyes from contacting with Haku, "...! E-eh? O-oooh! Y-you mean Sasuke-kun! He... hehe... o-of course, I like him. I-I like him a lot!"

Though she tried to correct herself, and in her mind she knew that it was the truth, why did it feel as if she were lying her ass off when she said that? Why did it feel as if she said that just to save herself from further embarrassment?

Even Haku was able to tell that her loudness was a poor attempt to hide something else.

However, before both of them could say anything else, Naruto came out of his room, wearing a black shirt and a pair of blue track pants. He turned to Sakura and said, "Let's leave Sakura. Haku, don't worry about me if you wish to leave before I return, I can easily open the door."

Haku nodded his way and said; "Understood." Turning to Sakura, she said to her, "It's been a pleasure meeting you Sakura-san."

"C'mon Sakura. I have something that I want to talk to him about." Naruto said as he began to walk over to his door.

"O-okay!" Sakura exclaimed before she quickly stood up and briskly walked towards the retreating Naruto.

When Naruto got out, Sakura took a second to turn to Haku and said, "Ah, i-it's nice to meet you as well, Haku-san! S-see you!"

And with that, they left. And as Haku picked up the empty bowls to clean them up, she couldn't help but think, 'Is that Sakura girl in denial over who she really likes, I wonder?'

She thought about it for a few seconds before she shook it off, thinking that it was not really her business. It's not her problem who she really liked, but, one thing that she knew for certain was...

'Well, if she likes Naruto... then she needs to be prepared when the fact that her attraction is heavily unrequited hits her.'

* * *

><p>Once, walking side-by-side with the pink-haired girl at a rather close proximity was something that Naruto constantly sought. He had thought that it would be the peak of happiness for him. But right now, when she took the initiative and got closer to him first, he didn't feel happy, just... indifferent. Despite that, it seemed that she was aching to talk to him about something. It was halfway to the Uchiha district, and the whole time they were walking, she showed signs that she was desperate to tell him something important.<p>

Then, after fifty meters past the halfway mark, she said, "You know..." Sakura began, "Don't... take this the wrong way, but... As of now, with your... crush on me gone, what do you see me as?" she suddenly asked the question.

Naruto looked at her, _really _looked at her, and it caused her to blush and to turn away, as if afraid of his gaze.

"A-and, what's with your eyes?" she added as if it was an afterthought, "It's red now... w-why are they red?"

After sighing more to himself than at Sakura's sudden awkwardness, "...I'll answer the second question first I suppose..." Naruto began, choosing the easier question to be answered first, "My eyes had turned red because of an unknown factor that had given me this power of mine changed my eye color to that of a crimson-shade of red.

"As to what do I see you as now that I no longer have a crush on you, I only see you as a teammate. Does that answer satisfy you?"

No. No it did not.

"...What about seeing me as a friend?" she offered. Being seen as just a teammate would mean that outside of team exercise and mission, he saw her as nothing more than a professional colleague. He would trust her to keep him alive during a dangerous mission, but he would not trust her enough to actually become rather intimate.

Somehow, she found that she didn't like that.

It took Naruto a good couple of seconds to contemplate an answer. The most annoying and worrying thing for Sakura was how serious and conflicted he seemed in thinking about whether or not she could be seen as his friend.

Sure, she hadn't been that kind, or helpful, or friendly during the couple of years they shared as fellow students in the Academy, but...

After the five minute mark had been passed with silence, she bit her lip and said, "Hey! Am I really that bad that I can't be considered your friend?!" she asked as she felt her heart being constricted by something slithery and invisible, enveloping it in its ghostly grasp.

Naruto looked calm despite her sudden outburst. His now red eyes turned towards her green ones that defiantly stared at him. And after a moment, he said, "I _can _see you as a friend." Naruto answered, calming her somewhat, but then he continued, "But not the kind that I would let too close to me."

That answer stopped her at her tracks. Noticing this, Naruto followed suit, he stopped and turned to face her, who had cast her head down. Through her brain impulses, he felt that she had fallen into a rather deep depression and severe disheartenment.

Now however, he could fathom the reason as to why.

"...Have you come to like me somehow?" Naruto asked with a resigned expression.

Instead of responding to his question with an answer, Sakura kept her head cast down as she began to walk past him. Then, she said, "...Let's just go..."

Hearing how depressed she sounded, Naruto could not be more annoyed and disappointed at himself than he was right now. He could've been a little bit nicer in how he answered that question. Sure, he did not want to lie, but to make her on the verge of crying was not okay either.

"Hey, Sakura...?"

Hearing no response from her as she just kept on walking as if she didn't hear him, he decided to walk alongside her in the silence that he had created, not content with it, but acknowledged it somewhat. After all, he was responsible for it.

_"I think you should apologize to her Naruto." _Kushina said to her son, _"You could've handled it better and you didn't. You need to fix it lest this gets worse."  
><em>

_"Why should he do that for?" _Kurama replied back, his voice conveyed his annoyance, _"He doesn't have to. The girl asked him what amounts to whether or not he likes her, and he answered it with complete honesty, why does he need to apologize for?"_

_"For being rather insensitive."_

_"Oh you big softie, let her learn! This kind of stern but blunt treatment is important to teach her to be mature."_

Naruto merely closed his eyes in resignation and slight regret as he and Sakura walked through the streets of Konoha towards the Uchiha district.

Their silent walk finally brought them to the house which the young Uchiha had been staying at in solitude ever since the massacre a couple of years back. The Uchiha district had been left empty since then, making the area appear as if it were a ghost town in the middle of a massive village.

It was at this spot where he felt the dark spots in his awareness, and even now, it appeared to be blocking him from intruding through its interior, preventing him from feeling anything that might be happening on the inside.

As he let Sakura knock the door and said; "Sasuke-kun, are you home?" to the boy who might be there, Naruto looked around his surroundings, his awareness made him feel as if someone was watching him from up-close. However, there was something different about this 'presence', as he was incapable of feeling their physical presence, but somehow, someway, he was able to sense _a _'presence' nonetheless.

'This person is intruding the imaginary bubble of my awareness.' was what Naruto realized. This person had similar powers to him, and the proximity of his 'awareness' was wide enough for him to be enveloped in it without him capable of sensing his physical presence.

"Naruto..."

Hearing Sakura calling for him made him turn to the pink-haired girl, who discovered...

"The door's unlocked." she stated in a 'as a matter-of-fact' manner, "...Do you think we should... go in...?" she asked, clearly unsure as to what she should do, and wanting him to be the initiator.

"...Let's." Naruto answered it rather simply with one word. Opening the door, they were greeted by a dimly lit, empty hallway, and Naruto was the first to enter the interior without even bothering to wait on Sakura.

Though she was rather annoyed, she only grumbled a bit before she followed suit, closing the door behind her in the process.

Sakura followed Naruto towards the dining room, whereupon they saw no one sitting on the chairs. Then, they moved to the kitchen, then the guest room, then the whole first floor before they decided to move towards the second floor.

The second floor consisted of two bedrooms, one of which was undoubtedly occupied by Sasuke since the one on the first floor seemed to be the main one that his parents used to use before they were murdered.

Opening the first door that was the nearest to the ladder, they found nothing but a simple bed in a room that was largely undecorated. Naruto had a suspicion that this might be the room that was once occupied by Itachi Uchiha, and quickly left after assuming that, knowing that this was not the room where Sasuke might be.

Faced at the final room that they have not checked, Naruto and Sakura was nigh-certain that Sasuke was not in the house. However, they felt the need to examine the house completely, and so they opened the door...

"...He's not here either...?" Sakura asked at seeing the empty room from the corridor, "Didn't you say that he came home with you?" she asked Naruto.

The moment she turned her head towards him, she saw that his gaze was fixated upon something on the room, something that she was not able to discern or see, something that seemed visible only to his eyes...

She then saw him walking towards the wall behind the unoccupied bed, at a spot where Sasuke's head would be situated half a meter below it. He traced his hand over that spot, as if he was tracing the object that only he could see...

...

It was an image of a spiral made out of red-colored fluorescent light. At least, that was what he _saw _it as. It was a feeling on the back of his head, that this mark was not something that was made in a physical manner, that it was created for his eyes only somehow.

'...But how...?' Naruto wondered to himself as the light of the spiral began to take form and slither over his hand as if a snake coiling on a branch. He let the light did whatver its creator wanted to do before it finally dispersed, his question met with silence.

Sighing at the strangeness of the situation, he looked at Sakura and began to say, "Hey let's search for him somewhere..."

Else. He was supposed to say 'Somewhere Else.'. However, he was not able to say the complete sentence since he saw her stop doing anything. Frozen, encased not in ice but in stasis, as if locked out from the stream of time.

"...What are you?" Naruto said to the one whose presence he could feel, the same presence who was able to make everything around him stop.

_"What am I? Hm... depends on who you ask." _spoke a rather unfamiliar voice, whose pitch was almost as deep as Kurama, but where Kurama was rather feral and monstrous in tone, this one's felt more suave and laid-back.

"I'm asking _you_."

_"Well, then I suppose I am what you can call a human. Or... at least that's what I once was. This is a bit troublesome as if you ask me what I am, then it's a bit hard for me to stick a definition on what I have become."  
><em>

"...Are you the same as me? An individual empowered by the Crystals?"

_"True, we are the same." _the voice replied back. _"Hey, wanna come see me? I'm here with Sasuke. Both of you have become quite close haven't you? Good, good." _

"What are you planning? Whoever or whatever you are?"

_"Just come to me. You'll know where."_

As time began to flow once again, Sakura saw how Naruto seemed rather uneasy as he kept on looking around the room with such an intense gaze that was accentuated by his red eyes.

"N-Naruto?" Sakura called him, "What's going on? Is there something wrong?"

Naruto looked right into her eyes for a couple of seconds before he approached her, grabbed her shoulders and said to her, "Sakura, leave this place immediately, I know where Sasuke is but don't follow me."

As Naruto began to walk towards a nearby window that he had telekinetically opened, Sakura tried to halt him and ask, "W-wait! What are you talking about?! What do you mean by that?!"

"Leave. And do not follow me." Naruto reiterated calmly before he flew out of the window and closed it behind him.

_"This guy is quite crafty isn't he? To be able to send you information regarding his current whereabouts from far away using a power similar to yours." _Kurama remarked with an impressed but concerned voice. _"Still... why do I feel as if I recognize that voice...?"_

_"He sounds similar to... him. But... it can't be him, right?"_

_"Of course not, he's long dead Kushina, you know that. Your son has also ensured the last sliver of his existence is gone from this world." _Kurama reminded him in case she had forgotten.

'It's someone else... It has to be.' Naruto said, knowing what his mother was saying but considering the implication if what he was thinking were true, he decided to withhold any assumptions and consider the most rational notion as the truth until proven otherwise.

He flew towards a small shack located deep in the forest surrounding Konoha. Normally, the location would've been rendered hidden by the presence of seals surrounding the place, but someone was able to disable it. Judging by its size, it could either be a storage or a safe house of some sort.

_"I-Impossible..." _Kushina said suddenly after Naruto landed in front of it, _"It's... it's supposed to be destroyed when Minato lured Kurama here during his attack."_

So it was known that this was the safe house of his father. Its current state was, judging by what his mother said, impossible, as it should not be existing at the current moment in time.

'Then it must've been rebuilt by him somehow.' Naruto said as he opened the door and entered the interior...

In it, he saw Sasuke, sitting in a seiza position with his hands placed on the topside of his bent knees, his head tilted down slightly and his eyes closed. His expression was one that conveyed calmness and it seemed that he was either deep in sleep or concentration.

"...Sasuke?" Naruto said as he began to approach him. Then, he found that he was unable to reach him, even with his power, as his mind proved to be repelling his intrusions.

It took him half a second after his failure to make him realize he was there to know what was going on. '...You gave him a part of your power.'

"That I did."

The voice came not through their ability to establish mental connection with the minds of living beings, but through the vibrations in the surrounding air. He spoke using a physical body.

Naruto quickly turned to the man who was standing behind him...

And when he saw how much... _alike _they were, he got rooted in place with his expression conveying how thoroughly, utterly confused he was.

Outside of the faint stubble that had sprouted over the three pairs of whiskers adorning his cheeks and how adult he looked, this man in front of him was a spitting image of himself, had he were older, still possess the red eyes, and more rugged-like as if he were a roguish-looking man.

He wore a jacket adorned with the a deep shade of red whose fringes reached his ankles over a black shirt, this set of attire was combined with a black cargo pants that was halfway away from being terribly baggy. His feet however, were not equipped with any footwear, leaving them bare as he let the skin soles of his feet touch the ground.

The man's smile was a wolf's grin. His expression was something that he found alien when it was used with his aged face, it was as if he were watching a strange reflection from a warped mirror. It conveyed his sentiments, his confidence, his experience... Everything that made him who or what he was at this moment.

"Hello... me." he said, "Of course, that noun does not actually fit, as you are _not _me, despite the similarities... Still, it's the most comfortable one for me to use. And hello to you too, Kushina-san, Kurama-san."

He then smiled widely and said, "Apologies in advance, but I need to talk to him _alone._"

Suddenly, Naruto felt as if his body had been pierced by something, and though he could not see it, at the same moment, two orbs went out from his back, one colored in red and the other in orange, and then they floated to a spot just a centimeter above the older man's right hand that had been flipped downside up as Naruto fell down to his knees.

He looked up, and saw what he correctly assumed to be the souls of his mother and Kurama, shaped into a pair of spheres and kept that way by his power.

"...How...?"

"I'm much stronger than you." the older man said as he let the two orbs floated to his sides... Then, Naruto watched as the orb was suddenly engulfed in biomass that was slowly shaping itself to become bodies to house the two souls, with his mother being in the exact same form as before while Kurama was turned into a rather big fox with orange fur and multiple tails.

As the unconscious woman whom he had made clothes to cover her for and the Bijuu floated down gently and lied down on the floor, the older man continued to speak...

"Plain and simple." he said with a rather mocking smile.

After a moment of tense silence, Naruto stood up once again, extending his awareness to his mother and Kurama. He discovered that they were not that badly affected after being extracted from his body, and so it allowed him to ask the older man, "What are you planning? Giving Sasuke similar powers to mine and yours, taking away Kurama and my mother from me... What's your cause?"

In response, the older man chuckled out of amusement, from a source that Naruto could not decipher or deduce, rendering him confused.

"Well... my cause is one that concerns you and him." he said as he pointed to Naruto and to Sasuke, "You might've deduced that I am your future self, correct?"

"...It passes my mind, yes." Naruto admitted as much, considering their likeness, it was the most probable explanation among many. "And if it were true, what, did you come here to repair the wrongs and the mistakes in the past?"

"No, I already tried that, merely created another universe in the process while leaving the one that I intended to fix at its broken state still." he answered nonchalantly as if speaking about the weather, "Your future is not mine, and mine was not yours. I am your future self, correct, but we do not share the same past, therefore, I am _one _of many versions of you."

As Naruto difficultly trying to digest the information, the man added, "My existence, compared to other versions of ourselves is unique, as I am here, but also almost everywhere else, a byproduct of my power and my reckless usage of it during the fight that I had with the beast known in almost every version of our world as the Shinju. What you see here is one aspect of me, but my true self has been spread across the multiverse."

It took Naruto five seconds of silence before he said one thing that came to his mind, "...You're a multi-layered existence. You are no longer three-dimensional, this one that I see before me is merely a-"

"Projection. An aspect of myself, bound by some of the laws of the three-dimensional world and the fourth-dimensional plane, but due to my nature, I am able to become a rule breaker."

"...But you were once... like me? Before the Crystals changed us?"

"Indeed... But unlike you, I received my power when I was seventeen... When I forced myself to wake from a deep slumber that was shared by every humans on the planet. It was the plan of a mad man with a desire for a twisted peace... I broke myself out of the world of lies that he crafted and gained my power through pure chance. We are similar in regards of the circumstances that led to us gaining our powers, but on everything else... we are starkly different."

Naruto could tell. The man before him, a three-dimensional projection of his self from his extra-dimensional state of being, felt as if he was bearing the weight of everything on his proverbial shoulders as if they were his problem alone.

The way he spoke of the deep slumber and the battle with the beast known as Shinju made Naruto think that the two were connected somehow, a series of chained events that led to his current state. He was facing a version of himself that was once not so different from himself, but turned into something that he had no sufficient perspective to truly gaze upon his real form that, as was said, had been spread across the multiverse.

Still, there was the matter of why he was here, in this universe, and so he asked, "But why are you here? What do you hope to gain?"

"To banish the bleak, hopeless future from whence I was once a part of before it reached its supposed climax. To nip it in the bud so to speak. " he answered, "As a final attempt in trying to change a world similar to mine for the better, a self-imposed final exam if you will, and this time... I will use you two to be the catalysts of change."

While that was very blunt of him, Naruto nevertheless appreciated the honesty, "Why not do it yourself?"

"I have more grave matters to attend to. Believe it or not, I have a duty to uphold and my existence hangs between the safety of numerous universes and their destruction and this world is not yet unsalvageable or irredeemable for me to just blink this world into a state of non-existence."

"...So what? Are you a guardian of some sort?" Naruto asked, finding the implication that there was a force out there that sought their destruction to be both fascinating and scary.

"I am. Though they call me the Mad One for my numerous interferences in several worlds and... the variants of the methods that I used regarding that and fighting my enemies... nevertheless, they acknowledge my capability to protect the multiverse as a whole." he explained.

Naruto was silent as he contemplated what he just said before he asked one thing that he found to be most intriguing to his mind, "...Who are _They_?"

In response, the man merely smiled in a mysterious fashion before he responded with, "Perhaps you'll meet them. ...No. You _will _meet them. You and the others. He's gathering a team you see, a second one. After this is over, perhaps I'll put forth your name to him. No doubt he would welcome you."

Before him was a man with connection to power beyond his imagining. Even he, with the power to have some control over nature, could not create a body from out of thin air, and this man... this _being_, did it without even get himself tired in the aftermath.

"Now, regarding the crux of this world's problem, Sasuke there has agreed to do this self-appointed mission. I remembered how he used to be a dick, but he mellowed out well. Your doing I suppose?"

"Partly. I can't take all the credit." Naruto said rather honestly.

The man laughed again, slightly harder this time before he said, "Really now, what happened to you that made you so unlike who I was?" he asked in an amused fashion, "The Crystals cannot change one's personality through direct means, so what exactly happened to you?"

"...Identity amalgamation. With my father." Naruto answered his question with just two words.

"...Ah. I see." the man remarked with a less cheery voice before he said, "Returning to the matter at hand, I want you two," he said as he pointed to Naruto and Sasuke, "To leave your village and seek out the man who hides beneath the earth. Destroy him, destroy his base, destroy everything that has a link to him. Only then can this world be safe from what I had experienced."

"Who is this man?"

"He fancied himself with the name Madara Uchiha, but though he is an Uchiha, he was not the indomitable monster that he was in my universe. You know what? I'll let you see for yourself."

Then, his mind was infiltrated by images and the memories of the man that was once Uzumaki Naruto.

It was... it was as if he was submerged in the ocean that was the man's memories. He saw some familiar faces, such as Sakura's, Sasuke's, the Hokage along with some strangers, such as a hermit-like old man with long, spiky white hair and a busty adult woman who wore a haori with the kanji for 'gamble' printed on its back... due to this, the events that happened was not the one that he knew.

He remembered how Sasuke left Konoha, he remembered making a promise to Sakura that he would bring him back no matter the cost and how he failed to fulfill it when the opportunity was upon him.

From there, things went towards the far future, one that he had not yet experienced. He saw deaths, he saw people brought back to life rather gruesomely, he saw destruction wrought by many people with twisted goals, he saw a gigantic abomination absorbing every single human being on the planet into its body, and he saw how, in the end of his journey, all that was left of humans on his universe... were none.

Because in the end, even he, the last of the humans of his universe, had become a monster... to defeat another monster.

It was right then that he was cut off from the torrents of memories. The memories of the man in front of him now became a part of himself, his cause he now understood, and now, he found himself pitying the man in front of him.

"I may have lost the world and everything in it that I came from, but do not look me in the eye as if you wish to donate a charity to my well-being." said the man who had lost everything from which he came from, "I'm not that pitiful and frankly speaking, I do not need you to pity me. It's unproductive of you to do such a thing."

"...Apologies." Naruto said, genuinely regretful for pitying him when it was clear that he had grown to accept what he did.

"Accepted." he said it rather simply before he continued on with the previous topic, "So now you know... do you accept this offer of alliance and do what must be done and set a better course of events for this world to prosper?'

"...I have several questions." Naruto offered, "Why me? Why this universe in particular? Why not the parallel ones? What makes me and this universe distinctive?" he asked

The man merely raised his eyebrows, his smile still existent, "You mean you don't know? ...No of course you don't. It's because of the Crystal's presence. Do you know what they really are, or more to the point, what they were?" he asked in a rhetorical fashion since he answered it soon afterwards, "They were corpses. Or, parts of a corpse."

Though Naruto was rather taken aback by the revelation, he gathered enough sense to formulate another question, "Corpses of what?"

"Corpses of lost universes. _Dead _universes." answered his older, much more powerful self, "They are the very fabric of reality from dead universes condensed into something material during the moment of their death. Only few could break through to other universes, and it's a rare occurrence in itself. More so when it's known by the inhabitants of that particular universe. What you and I found was of a similar type, powerful ones, allowing us to become this. While on other universes, the materials were so miniscule and transient that nothing could even perceive it."

The man then created shards that looked similar but smaller in scale to the Crystals that Naruto found and rendered it floating atop of his upturned right palm, "These, for example, are parts of the universe that was once my home."

Naruto's eyes widened at this. Destruction of a whole universe was a destruction of a massive scale that even he could not fully comprehend while maintaining his sanity, and to think that there was a survivor of such a catastrophe...

"The destruction occurred during my absence. At that time, I was not powerful enough to prevent something of such a scale, I was at the training phase of the new existence." he explained, "Still, I tried, and a new universe was created from where it once was, a good one too, so I suppose it wasn't a total loss." he added with a shrug.

"I assume that... the death of your universe... and all these other universes... are not natural?" Naruto asked.

"No." he initially answered, "...Yes." he changed his answer, "Do you consider a force that was once a collection of every species contained in one universe from the first to the last merging together with the immaterial objects during the universe's re-creation process and become one nigh-incomprehensible being driven by destructive curiosity natural?" he asked as if asking someone from afar about the weather on that location.

"...Can't say that I'm qualified to define such a thing as natural or not." answered Naruto, thoroughly baffled by what he had described.

In response, the man merely smirked, as if knowing that he would answer his question that way, "True. In any case, I've been fighting them ever since I am capable to actually push them back and clip their constitution bit by bit. The deaths that they cause is something that I want to stop, since I am their natural antithesis."

An individual organic being that reached a transcendental state without resorting to merging with other organisms and other materials in the universe... Such a thing would be the perfect antithesis of a monstrous amalgamation that was created through an attempt to reach a transcendental state of being.

"I am their sworn enemy, or so the saying goes." he remarked without even showing any fear, in contrast to Naruto, who showed slight fear when he described the creature that he was constantly fighting. It came from experience, was what he thought. Or, he really was as mad as he claimed, to consider such a thing as an enemy that one could defeat instead of an incomprehensible, undefeatable monster was quite something.

His current status as an extra-dimensional being also helped, he supposed.

Then, he said, "Which reminds me... This world may be put at odds with the being sooner or later. It is an inevitability."

Naruto's eyes widened, "Wait, if that were true then we're horribly out-"

"I will help you save this world from utter destruction, don't worry. But, I will also put you two to the test. See if you fit the requirement to become guardians like me. Not exactly like me, mind you, but you understand."

Naruto scoffed a bit and said; "So this is also a recruitment plan? Set up by either you or... _Them?_"

"By all of us." he said, referring to him and his companions whose task seemed to be guarding the multiverse, "So what do you say? Would you come with Sasuke and me to bring about a brighter future for this world and perhaps, should you choose, to become a guardian similar to myself after all of the conundrums here are over?" he asked of him, not demanded.

"Another question." Naruto offered, "Why not change the mind of this man? This Uchiha Madara? Certainly it is not beyond your sphere of influence to do so?" was his question.

"I already did that. Trust me, it merely made the situation a whole lot worse in the long run." was what he said, "I have been directly interfering in many events in the worlds of many universes, and what I have found is that for me to influence something to become better is through a change made _by_ the denizen of that universe. There were many times where this is false, but most of the time, it holds true. Better to not take a risk... for every universes destroyed or made worse, my being, strong as it is, takes its toll."

"...So it's either we defeat him... or for me to change his mind through force." Naruto said.

"The former is preferable." was what he said, "Some minds are more resistant than others to forced changes, and this man that you will have to kill is far stronger than most." There was a moment of silence before he said, "What do you say to this?"

"One more question... Am I right in assuming that you're treating this as an experiment of some sort?" Naruto said with narrowed eyes. The notion was not that far-fetched, considering that this man, no this _being _in front of him was so powerful that he could nullify any problems he deemed need fixing.

All that he got was a smile that was formed in a deliberately slow fashion. He provided no verbal answers. The Mad One indeed. But somehow, with him being a twisted existence himself, Naruto found himself smiling back.

'This could prove interesting.' was what Naruto thought, deeply contemplating on the next course of action that he should take.

_'It will.'_ his older self replied back.

* * *

><p>Waking up from her slumber, Kushina felt strange. Her body felt... different somehow, as if there was something that made her <em>feel <em>more connected with her own body.

_"Wake up."_

At least there was a familiar voice. Kurama, the Bijuu's low-pitched voice was something that she welcomed as she turned towards him.

And there he was, in his fox form, though smaller than his real one when he was at full power, it was a sight that allowed Kushina to drop her guard slightly. "Kurama... what just... happened?"

_"...In case your drowsiness took away a huge chunk of your awareness, Naruto met an equivalent of an Eldritch God and he brought us out of him."_

That sentence helped Kushina remember what exactly happened, and quickly she sat herself up and examine her surroundings. She and Kurama were in the same safehouse of Minato's that was supposed to be destroyed when the masked man broke Kyuubi free and controlled him to do his bidding.

Remembering who Naruto met made Kushina ask the question that plagued her the moment she woke up, "W-where's Naruto? Where's Sasuke? Don't tell me that he..."

Kurama nodded, confirming her suspicion. _"They've already left long ago. It's late in the afternoon now, almost nighttime. As to how I know they've already left, your son left us a note. Not in the physical sense mind you, but he placed it on our minds."  
><em>

He then grasped his head a bit, and pulled out something that looked like an orb of some kind, colored in red, and then he threw it on the ground, where it materialized into the form of her son, glowing in a rather bright shade of red...

"Mother... Kurama... with this, you might know that Sasuke and I have already left..."

* * *

><p><em>First thing that I want to say to you is that I'm sorry.<br>_

"What drove you to agree, Sasuke?" Naruto asked the Uchiha who was sitting beside him at the clouds overlooking Konoha located far below them, "Besides your desire for revenge?"

Sasuke looked at him before he said, "...Seeing what I could've become." was his answer, "He showed me the atrocities that I would've committed for the sake of my obsession... What I would've done when I discover something about my brother... From my perspective, what my other self has done is not something that I would want to do. No matter what the reason was."

_But I've already made my decision. We are going on a mission to defeat an evil that would plunge our world into war and catastrophe. We have the power to stop it, and we're going to do just that._

"But you still want some payback for what your brother did?" Naruto asked.

"...Yes. I'll still carry that out, hopefully in the near future." he answered, "But this time, I won't sacrifice everything good that I have just for the sake of my satisfaction." he said as he looked at Naruto and remembering a certain girl that they had helped and brought from Nami no Kuni.

_We have left the village. Sasuke, me, and the man that was once me. We are leaving and perhaps someday, will return._

Naruto smiled at his answer, and then they felt that certain someone calling them, Naruto turned to Sasuke and said; "Ready to start this journey?"

Sasuke's answer was... "Yeah."

_But as for myself in particular..._

* * *

><p>"Naruto... Naruto, you idiot...!" Kushina berated her son as she and Kurama, abandoning their common sense, ran as fast as they could to Konoha, to inform the old monkey about what has happened and to try to prevent him from going.<p>

_...There is a chance that I, in particular, will not return to Konoha after all of this is over. And perhaps, Sasuke will follow me as well._

_"Kushina! Calm down!"  
><em>

"No I will not be calm! That... idiot of a son of mine...!" she said as tears began to leak out from her eyes, conveying how concerned she was for her son, who had decided to abandon her, Kurama, his home, and perhaps, the world that he had been born into.

_I want to see what other worlds have to offer. Call me selfish, but... I can't help but to be curious._

"He's my son! ...He's not some being who could just run off to other universes as much he wants! He belongs here!"

_"Hey, you know how humans say that when they're adults, they have the privilege to go wherever they want. Your son is one no matter how much you might object." _Kurama replied calmly.

Kushina could only purse her lips as she went on, bothered but nevertheless undeterred by what Kurama said.

* * *

><p>Sakura tearfully looked at the form of Naruto in front of her, an apparition that she knew was not the real him, but a form of a farewell note.<p>

_We're sorry for our selfishness... But this is the path that we have chosen. Sasuke and I are really sorry for abandoning the team without any of your consent. Especially for the possibility of leaving forever._

* * *

><p>With his one visible eye, Kakashi looked at the ghostly apparition of Naruto with slight sadness apparent in his visible eye.<p>

_I hope that you can forgive us... It might take some time, of that we are certain. But we will be gone for quite a while, so whatever you decide, whether or not we are above redemption, should we return and ask for it, we will accept whatever you have chosen nevertheless._

* * *

><p>The Hokage tangled his fingers in front of his head as he propped his elbows on his desk and watched Naruto finished his message...<p>

_And as for our punishment... Well, if we decide to go back, we will accept it all as long as it is within an acceptable boundary. For now... this will be a goodbye. For all of you. ...May we see each other again someday if possible.  
><em>

When that was over, the apparition was gone, and Hiruzen looked at Haku, who had brought this to his attention. "...Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Momochi Haku."

"It's because it was imperative to tell you this, Hokage-dono." she said rather humbly, "...Will you punish them should they decide to return?" she asked, rather worried by what the Hokage would do.

He sighed and rubbed his wrinkled forehead before he took his _kiseru, _light it up, and took a smoke to calm his mind. What they had chosen to do saddened him, but it was a decision that they had made while aware of the consequences.

Not to mention, the reason why they left was also not because they were defecting, but because of a mission. Self-imposed, but nevertheless, it wasn't something that could directly endanger Konoha, at least not to his knowledge.

"...It's something to think about. Still, I'm inclined not to for the moment."

As he turned to the window that overlooked the village, he saw two figures causing a rather loud ruckus as they were approaching his office. Squinting his eyes to see better, his eyes widened at the identity of the two figures.

"...Somehow, I knew he was the cause of this..." Hiruzen said as if a man resigning his fate to an inevitable catastrophe.

* * *

><p><em>Some time later...<em>

Naruto and Sasuke landed at a hill on a seemingly unimportant area known as Mountains' Graveyard, located in the land neighboring Taki and Otogakure, on the northern-most part of the land.

This place was the base of the man bent on subjugating the whole world for the sake of fulfilling his own goals, not caring about what the others would want, a man that would rather drive the world into a twisted dream of peace rather than try to weather the wave and find out another way, a seemingly improbable, difficult way, but nevertheless, a way that existed nonetheless.

"This is the place..." Naruto said to the young Uchiha. "You sure you have a good grasp on your power?"

Sasuke responded by summoning a massive gusts of wind using his psychokinesis that forced the leaves from the surrounding tree and the dusts on their feet to scatter, "I might not be as strong as you... not yet at least... but I have enough."

Smiling to the raven-haired friend, he then sent a message to the ever-present extra-dimensional being that was himself, or, an alternate version of himself, 'We're ready. Why don't you start?'

It took a couple of seconds before there was a massive explosion that covered the entirety of the mountain's underground region, an explosion made solely by sudden expansion of air due to the exponential increase in heat within a nanosecond.

Though the explosion was quite messy, they managed to locate a certain someone that managed to escape relatively unscathed by the ordeal, a man who was beginning to run away from the ground zero.

"There's our guy." Sasuke said as he pointed his finger at the fleeing man in black cloak.

"Then let's get him."

With that, the two of them flew off to eliminate their first, most important target of all... The man known as Madara Uchiha.

* * *

><p><strong>End.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>0.<strong>

So, that's the end for this story. It's a bit abrupt, that I would admit, but... with the way this ends, it makes two promises that it will keep: One, everything in this universe will turn out alright (With Sasuke being less of a dick and working together with Naruto with the same godlike powers.) Two, Naruto and Sasuke of this universe _might _be found on my other stories.

Emphasis on _might. _My very, very first plan of ending this was to send Naruto, psychokinetic powers and all, to Negima universe after defeating his canon adversaries, but after conceiving the concept of a Godlike!Naruto drawn to its logical conclusion in the form of Naruto's Alternate Future Self, _just _sending him to Negima universe seems rather small of a scope, especially with the whole 'Guarding the Multiverse' bit.

However, I won't continue this story any longer, as from my point of view, this is already finished. Tell me your thoughts, and see you in my future works.


End file.
